A man already being held in the Snohomish Country Jail in an identity theft case was charged April 8 with possession of stolen property after police recovered 12 stolen paintings.
Justin David Kahale Hoffman, 28, of Seattle was charged with second-degree burglary and trafficking in stolen property as a result of the investigation, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson said.
Twelve of 33 paintings by an artist police say is “well-known” have been recovered, according to court documents. The documents didn’t identify the artist. The market value of the recovered paintings is $9,900, Dickinson said.
On Dec. 19, somebody broke into a storage locker in the 19400 block of Highway 527 south of Mill Creek and took the 33 paintings. Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives determined that 12 of them were taken to a pawnshop in Edmonds in early January.
Hoffman is accused of making an arrangement with the shop owner, who was to attempt to sell the paintings over the Internet or through a local art gallery. The paintings eventually were taken to a gallery in Seattle.
Hoffman used fake identification when he made the deal at the pawnshop, and the owner identified a photo of him.
When questioned in the jail, Hoffman eventually admitted the burglary and stealing the paintings, investigators said. He told detectives that someone else stole the remaining paintings from him.
Staff at The Herald in Everett compiled this report.
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