[CPProt.net] Alleged Icon Thief Labeled 'Serial Burglar'

[MSN CPPnet]

Alleged Icon Thief Labeled 'Serial Burglar' 

By GABE WELLS 

June 30, 2005

Bellaire Police Chief Bob Wallace on Wednesday described the man accused of
stealing a valuable painting from a Bellaire church as a "serial burglar''
who has little or no regard for the public. 

Twenty-year-old Bellaire resident Zachary W. Valloric is already in jail on
burglary charges stemming from a June 20 incident, but he is now being
charged with the theft of the painting "Our Lady of Perpetual Help'' from
the St. John's Catholic Church. The $8,000 painting was recovered Tuesday by
Bellaire police and depicts Mary holding the infant Jesus. The painting
dates back to the 1920s, and it was given to the church from the Vatican.
On Wednesday, Wallace said Valloric is currently being held in the Belmont
County Jail for the June 20 burglary of two residences in the area of 43 and
Jefferson Streets. Valloric was arrested Friday by the Brooke County
Sheriff's Department on warrants for those burglaries. 

Wallace said Valloric is a suspect in a number of other burglaries and
breaking and enterings currently under investigation by his department.
Wallace said Valloric was arrested twice on the same day in May, and a
search warrant by police at his residence on Noble Street resulted in the
discovery of multiple safes, a Remington bolt-action rifle with the serial
number filed off and various other items. The chief said Bellaire police
received other information linking Valloric to a semi-automatic handgun
recovered shortly after he was arrested. According to the chief, during a
recent court appearance Valloric made threats against others involved in the
case. 

"It's apparent that Valloric is a serial burglar, and he has little or no
regard for any person's home, or even some of our sacred institutions such
as the church,'' Wallace said. "I expect the justice department will pay
close attention to his misdeeds in the past year and take the appropriate
actions.

"This man, while in a preliminary action in court, laughed and joked and
made threats against parties to the investigation,'' the chief added. "We
are looking at three burglaries and five breaking and enterings.''

Wallace said there is reason to believe the painting was stolen from the
church some time between June 17 and June 19 and stored in the basement of a
Bellaire residence. Information provided by the public led Bellaire police
to the painting, which was found in the trunk of a car in the Washington
Lands area of Marshall County. Wallace said others may be charged in the
case. However, Wallace said those individuals did cooperate with police in
the investigation.