A search warrant has added some intrigue to the still unsolved theft of Roger Maris’ 1960 MVP award and Hickok belt from a display case inside a North Dakota shopping mall.
According to local media reports, investigators are looking into the possibility the break-in may be connected to others in New York, New Jersey and Pennslvania. Police in Fargo have been in contact with the FBI and investigators with the Bernards Township Police Department in Basking Ridge, N.J., about similarities between crimes there.
North Dakota-based InForum.com says investigators would like to obtain access to data transmitted over area cellphone towers around the time the theft took place around 2:15 AM on July 26.
The smash-and-grab burglary was well-planned and executed according to investigators who have some surveillance video. A passenger in a four-door vehicle smashed his way into the mall through a glass door, then ran to the nearby Roger Maris Museum located inside the shopping center. He uses an axe or hatchet to break a pane of glass, removes the two items and runs back out of the mall. The entire theft took only about one minute.
The Maris items are each one-of-a-kind, making them difficult to sell in the sports memorabilia market.
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