An art collector suspected of stealing paintings valued at half-a-million dollars from several Southern California galleries has been arrested in Las Vegas, 10 years after the alleged thefts.
Officials say a tip that came through the Orange County district attorney's office in November led police to Joseph Killebrew's Las Vegas home, where officers found several of the missing paintings hanging on the walls. Police say he fled to Las Vegas from his San Diego home to start a new life under the name Michael Palmer.
Prosecutors say Killebrew bought 14 paintings from three galleries in Laguna Beach and one in West Hollywood. He allegedly stopped payment on the personal checks he used to pay for them and fled after the galleries called to ask him about the payment.
