[MSN] LAGUNA NIGUEL - For seven months, plein-air painter John Cosby hoped police would find the burglars who broke into his Laguna Beach home and stole about $750, 000 worth of his work.

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Friday, November 9, 2007
'An Honest Living' helps police solve art theft
Two Laguna Niguel men are arrested in connection with 250 pieces of art stolen from Laguna Beach artist.
By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
The Orange County Register

LAGUNA NIGUEL - For seven months, plein-air painter John Cosby hoped police would find the burglars who broke into his Laguna Beach home and stole about $750,000 worth of his work.

In the end, it was an oil-on-canvas painting called "An Honest Living" that led investigators to two men suspected of doing anything but.

"It was like serendipity," said Cosby, who has been painting since he was 5 and whose paintings are featured in galleries in Laguna Beach and across the nation.

After more than 250 of his paintings were stolen in April, Cosby and investigators with the Laguna Beach Police Department notified local and national leaders about the heist.

Art thefts are not rare in Laguna Beach, a city with an active artistic community and several art galleries, but authorities said the number of paintings stolen in this incident was unheard of.

Friends and colleagues browsed through Internet sites looking for the stolen paintings when a collector of Cosby's work in Texas noticed one of his paintings two weeks ago on eBay – and something odd.

The painting, which could have easily been sold for $4,000, was displayed with a price tag of $1,500.

"It wasn't in a frame and it was cheaply priced," Cosby said.

At first Cosby thought he had sold that painting years ago, but then he checked through his inventory, a system he set up years ago where he took a picture of his paintings and assigned a serial number in order to track sales.

"An Honest Living," a painting of a blues band playing in the street with a gathering crowd, was one of the stolen works.

Cosby contacted Detective Debbie Kelso, who tracked the man who had advertised the item on the Web site.

The posting led them to Michael Voss, a 49-year-old resident of Laguna Niguel. Voss then led investigators to Thomas Hendricks, his 49-year-old roommate.

Police found their walls decorated with some of the stolen paintings, Cosby said. The rest were found in a storage unit.

Voss was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of receiving stolen property. He entered a plea of not guilty Friday at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, said Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office.

Hendricks was arrested Thursday and faces charges of receiving stolen property exceeding $150,000, Emami said.

He is being held in county jail with bail set at $750,000, according to Laguna Beach Police.

Also recovered were some paintings from Cosby's grandmother and two bicycles.

"It was just amazing it all turned out so well," said Cosby, who has maintained a sense of humor about the robbery.

When the break-in occurred, he wondered why some paintings were left behind.

"It almost made me insecure about my paintings," he said in an earlier interview.

Contact the writer: 949-454-7361 or shernandez at ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/news/paintings-cosby-stolen-1919865-laguna-beach