Oscar Nominee Pleads Innocent in Library Book Thefts

Gustav (Gus) Hasford, a novelist and screenwriter who was nominated for an Academy Award this year, pleaded innocent Wednesday in San Luis Obispo to felony charges of grand theft and possession of about 1,000 stolen books from libraries throughout the United States and England.

Hasford, co-writer of the screenplay for the movie “Full Metal Jacket,” was arraigned before San Luis Obispo County Municipal Judge James D. Ream and charged on two counts of grand theft and 10 counts of possession of stolen property. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.

He was booked at the County Jail and released on $7,500 bail.

Hasford co-authored “Full Metal Jacket” with director Stanley Kubrick and Michael Herr. They were nominated for the Oscar.

Books From 10 Libraries

The charges against Hasford involve about $20,000 worth of books from 10 libraries, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Teresa Estrada-Mullaney. Most of the books were about the Civil War and military history and were allegedly stolen from libraries in San Luis Obispo; Los Angeles; Santa Monica; Longview, Wash.; Sacramento, and other cities. Among the books were several rare 19th-Century volumes from a library in London.

Hasford’s library collection was discovered in March when police at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, looking for library books Hasford had checked out at the campus but had not returned, searched his rented storage locker and found about 10,000 books. More than 1,000 were from libraries and most had either been checked out or simply taken from the shelves, authorities said.

Books from 77 different libraries were found in Hasford’s collection.

“There were only one or two books from some of the libraries, and we only filed charges from the places where we believe the most books were taken,” Estrada-Mullaney said. “We’ve made agreements with agencies in the other counties and in England that we would prosecute Mr. Hasford here.”