Pignapping Suspects Do Perp Walk
By ERIC S. PAGE
Updated 5:34 PM PST, Wed, Apr 22, 2009
Two men accused of stealing a bronze statue of a pig from in front of a Chula Vista restaurant entered pleas in court.
Armando Cesena, 35, and Oren Hertz, 34, were formally charged with grand theft at their arraignment on Wednesday afternoon. The men took the $15,000 statue from outside Miguel's Cantina in Eastlake April 4, according to prosecutors.
The suspects were seen on surveillance video shot by an ATM camera, according to prosecutors, who said they are taking the case very seriously.
"It is just a statue -- on its face, it's a piece of bronze, but it is a figure that's been outside of the restaurant for the past six years, and families go to this restaurant, and these families have kids who will stop and pet this statue,"
Hertz lives in San Ysidro and cleans boats. Cesena lives in Chula Vista and is now unemployed but once worked as a storage manager.
The pig was returned 12 days after it was stolen, wrapped in a blanket.
Hertz is being held on $25,000 bail. Cesena was ordered to be held without bail because he was on probation at the time of his arrest.
Hertz is also facing auto theft charges because he was found staying in a stolen travel trailer out of Santa Clarita, according to Chula Vista police. He's also facing a charge of possession of a stolen vehicle.
First Published: Apr 22, 2009 4:58 PM PST
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