A suspect in a burglary of an Anchorage auction market was arrested Saturday night after police found him panhandling for gas money at Point Woronzof with Native artifacts on him, and a "large ivory tusk" sticking out from under a blanket in the back seat of his car.
Anchorage police responded to a call at the popular West Anchorage park at 11:29 p.m. on Saturday night regarding an older man who was asking for gas money, the department said in a statement Sunday.
They found Timothy P. Hayes, 60, with "multiple Native artifacts both on his person and in the 1999 green Ford Contour he was driving."
"One of the items was a large ivory tusk which was sticking out from underneath a blanket in the back seat," police said.
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Thousands of dollars of Native art and artifacts had been reported stolen from Duane's Antique Market in South Anchorage early Saturday morning.
Among them: Ivory tusks, nearly 25 scrimshawed whale teeth, and two mounted walrus skulls, a store employee told the Anchorage Daily News on Saturday.
Police seized the artifacts as evidence.
Hayes was taken to the Anchorage jail. He is charged with burglary, theft and criminal mischief.