One of my readers sent me a link to this article this morning. It makes you wonder – what the guy was thinking?? The article was published in the New Orleans, Louisiana newspaper, The Times-Picayune. I should no longer be surprised at the dumb things people do!
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Man tries to pawn Civil War-era cannon to Metairie scrap yard
By Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune
October 29, 2009, 6:55AM
Stanley Hurlee has seen his share of odd sales through the years at his Metairie scrap yard.
Yet last week, something didn’t seem right when a man pulled up, eager to sell a hefty haul of brass and bronze.
The mountain of metal inside the man’s vehicle was 8 inches in diameter, a couple of feet long, and weighed in at about 225 pounds, Hurlee recalled. When he examined it closer, the veteran scrapman found a serial number and a nameplate too, noting its origins back in 1863.
Hurlee realized he was dealing with a certified Civil War cannon. Now, he has purchased airplanes and pontoon boats, air conditioners and aluminum motor homes, he said, but never a cannon.
“You know, you just don’t buy cannons,” Hurlee said Wednesday. “That right there was a piece of history.”
So Hurlee, who co-owns Airline Salvage in the 6900 block of Airline Drive, asked some questions of the vendor. Such as, how did you happen to come into possession of a Civil War cannon?
The man with the old artillery, Kevin Robinson, 30, of New Orleans, allegedly put on a hard sell: cash for cannon, simple as that. Hurlee didn’t like being sweated.
Enter: the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, acting on a call from Hurlee. Exit: Robinson, who didn’t wait around for the deputies to arrive.
Witnesses noted the license plate on the 2005 Ford Taurus that carried the ancient armament, according to the Sheriff’s Office. And burglary Detective Gary Greene set to work. Within a week, Greene nabbed Robinson at his home in the 4400 block of Dryades Street in New Orleans, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Robinson allegedly told the detective that he had stolen the Civil War weapon. He later led them to it. The cannon was returned to its owner, who did not return a call for comment Wednesday.
The detective handed Robinson over to the New Orleans Police Department, which booked him into Orleans Parish jail early Wednesday on a count of theft of more than $500 and illegal possession of stolen things worth more than $500. It’s unclear how much the cannon is worth.
The Sheriff’s Office also noted in a news release that Robinson will face a count of possession of stolen property in Jefferson Parish once he is released from the New Orleans jail.
The NOPD did not release details about the initial theft and did not return a call for comment Wednesday.
Robinson had not appeared in magistrate court as of Wednesday evening and an initial police report had yet to be entered into the court record.
Meanwhile, Hurlee was back at work buying scraps. “Nothing surprises me anymore,” he said. “People will try to sell anything.”
He said he once had a woman show up in her underwear to make a sale, and another time, a woman appeared at his salvage shop with no clothes and no scraps.
“You know what she was trying to sell, huh?” Hurlee said.
He’s only interested in sales of a legal nature. Hurlee said men like him get bad raps — people tend to think everything in a salvage yard is stolen. That’s why he called deputies.
“I don’t like to deal with a thief,” he said.
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