Man charged in art heist of $70K glass sculpture at Oklahoma museum

Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A man has been charged for allegedly stealing a $70,000 glass sculpture from an Oklahoma museum in what is believed to be the institution's first art heist.

Christopher Lambert, 56, was charged earlier this month with grand larceny for allegedly stealing the sculpture from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in October, court records show.

Lambert, a membership fellow of the museum, was seen in surveillance video swiping a sculpture from the Jerome V. and Judith G. Rose Family Glass Collection, which highlights the work of pioneers in the artistic glass movement, prosecutors allege in court documents.

The collection is being exhibited at the museum, located in downtown Oklahoma City, through Jan. 15 and the sculpture was discovered to be stolen during a routine check.

Michael J. Anderson, the museum's president, told The Oklahoman in an interview that museum officials combed through the footage to identify a possible suspect after the sculpture was stolen and provided the information to police.

"It was returned anonymously to the museum," Anderson said. "It actually is back on view. And we've made the necessary modifications to the installation to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Lambert allegedly confessed to police that he stole the sculpture.

This story has been updated to correct an erroneous name in the last paragraph.