04/28/92

CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558

Suspect in 1970s thefts arrested

STANFORD -- Police have arrested a Gilroy, Calif., man in connection with a number of thefts that occurred in the 1970s in the Stanford University department of anthropology and Stanford libraries.

Stanford Police Chief Marvin Herrington said Stephen Crawford, who worked as a security guard on campus for a time in the 1970s, was arrested Saturday, April 25, at his Gilroy residence. The arrest stemmed from an informant's tip and a joint investigation by Gilroy and Stanford officers, Herrington said.

Officers confiscated numerous American Indian artifacts such as art objects and sculptures, as well as about 200 rare books, Herrington said. Many of the items had been reported missing over a period of several years in the mid-1970s from the anthropology department and from the rare books section of the Stanford University Libraries.

Crawford was booked on five counts of possession of stolen property and one count of possession of hashish. He was later freed on $25,000 bail.

Police have not established the monetary value of the items found in Crawford's home. The items were removed from the home and are being held as evidence pending prosecution by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

This arrest is unrelated to the March 1992 theft of 17 American Indian baskets from the anthropology department museum, police said.

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