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The large statue of Cal Ripken Jr.'s No. 8 was stolen overnight from in front of the Camden Yards baseball stadium, and Baltimore police said they have arrested four men who were spotted driving with the statue in the open bed of a pickup truck on a downtown street.
Three men from Baltimore County and one from the city were being processed Wednesday at Central Booking on charges of theft and destruction of property, according to police. They were identified as: Matthew Rayner, 20, of Essex; Jason Stone Buner, 19, of Essex; Patrick Reynolds, 18, of Essex; and Gary Parker, 19, of Southeast Baltimore.
Police recovered the statue, which had been installed in 2001 near the park's Eutaw Street entrance as a tribute to the star player and city legend.
Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the theft was called in at 10:47 p.m. as a report of stolen property. It was not immediately clear who called in the report, but officers from the Central and Southeast districts responded and found the statue had been ripped off its base.
Guglielmi said the aluminum statue is "lighter than it appears" because it is hollow inside. "It was ripped off its mount," he said.
Police discovered that the theft had been captured on surveillance video and a lookout was broadcast for a pickup truck. About an hour later, police responded to a call for men acting disorderly at Lombard and Elwood streets in East Baltimore. When officers arrived, Guglielmi said they saw the pickup truck and the No. 8 statue in the back.
"They saw the big No. 8 and knew that was the property," Guglielmi said.
Police could not immediately say whether the statue was damaged.