Kings County District Attorney, Kenneth Thompson, announced the indictment of Louis Lassalle for stealing artwork valued at $10,000 from a Williamsburg art gallery.
“The bold and brazen nature of the theft of this artwork, whether from a businesses, a home, or anywhere in our community will not be tolerated. An artist’s work should be showcased, not stolen,” Thompson said in a release.
Lassalle was indicted with multiple charges of burglary, larceny, robbery, and other accounts. He allegedly stole the artwork on March 1, at approximately 8:25 p.m., according to the gallery’s co-owner Sean Leonard who testified in court.
Leonard explained that he noticed three paintings missing from the storage room in the back of the gallery during an exhibition. The paintings were done by artist Amar Stewart and depicted portraits of artist Jean Michel Basquiat, Nelson Mandela, and rapper Snoop Lion, previously known as Snoop Dogg.
Leonard watched Lassalle who was standing beside one of the missing paintings, confronted him, and called the police. Lassalle started running away, leaving the painting behind, but was caught by the police several blocks away. The two other painting have not yet been recovered.
If proven guilty, Lassalle will face anywhere from two to seven years in prison.
