2 Plead Not Guilty to Theft of Painting
Two men charged in the theft of a 17th-Century Dutch painting from an Antelope Valley College art show last month have pleaded not guilty.
Jereld Sharitz, a 23-year-old art student at the college, was charged with grand theft. Timothy Cain, Sharitz’s 27-year-old roommate, was charged as an accessory, a Lancaster Municipal Court official said. The $18,000 artwork, “Nymphs Gathering Flowers in a Landscape” by Gerard Hoet the Elder, was stolen from the college art gallery Nov. 6 during an exhibit of European paintings.
Sharitz and Cain were arrested Nov. 28 after investigators acting on a tip served a search warrant at the apartment of the two men and found the painting. The suspects entered not guilty pleas Friday and face a preliminary hearing Jan. 11.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
