Items stolen from Parade of Homes house, including artwork, returned to owner
BATON ROUGE - Hundreds of people visited a 5,000-square-foot, million-dollar home in the Oakbrook area of Baton Rouge over the weekend during the parade of homes, but at least one of them was a crook.
"It's very disheartening to know somebody came in and cased the place and did things to where they could get back in at a later time," home builder Chip Blair said. "They took three of my smart TVs and they took some tools and a radio. Damaged some doors they broke to get in."
The home builder, who also plans to live in the house, says it was a hand-carved piece of wood that hurts the most, a piece of art made for him by his brother.
"It's a special piece of wood. It had been struck by lightning and a unique piece of wood that he carved and gave to me. It meant a lot to me."
East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies arrested Joshua Johnson May 2 on charges of criminal damage to property and burglary. Deputies said Johnson's truck was seen in the surveillance video at the home.
According to arrest documents, Johnson told deputies he did not burglarize Blair's home, but admitted to stealing things from a slew of construction sites.
Trending News
Thankfully, deputies recovered the stolen items and returned the artwork to its rightful owner.