SAN DIEGO : Alleged Barbie Doll Thief Denies Guilt
A man accused of stealing what is believed to be the nation’s largest Barbie doll collection, then setting fire to the collector’s home was charged this week with arson, burglary and receiving stolen property.
Mark Larsen pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in San Diego Municipal Court late Thursday afternoon. He is serving a one-year sentence for violating probation.
Larsen is accused of breaking into the Normal Heights home of Glen Offield in October, stealing the more than 5,000 pieces of Offield’s Barbie collection, then setting the house on fire to cover up the burglary.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Waters said Larsen could also face charges of forgery in the use of one of Offield’s credit cards.
Police recovered the dolls after the apparent suicide in late October of their chief suspect and a former business partner of Offield’s, Scott Sloggett. The dolls were found packed in moving boxes in a rented storage locker. Waters said Friday that he could not go into details of the investigation that led police to Larsen, except to say that Larsen and Sloggett were close friends.
Offield has since been reunited with his $1-million collection.
A preliminary hearing for Larsen is scheduled Dec. 4.
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