James Bradley Mayhew, 32, was indicted on April 21 by a Wythe County grand jury on three charges of grand larceny involving a series of thefts at the Old Fort Mall in Wytheville, Va. No date has been set for his trial.

In Augusta County, Va., an indictment was expected to be returned on Mayhew by a grand jury during its hearing on April 28, according to Lee Ervin, the Augusta County commonwealth attorney. “I don’t think we’ll have any problem with this one,” Ervin said. In that county, Mayhew is charged with stealing about $2,500 in antiques from The Factory Antique Mall in Verona, Va.

Mayhew is also charged with one count of grand larceny in Roanoke County where police said he stole about $4,000 in antiques from the Roanoke Antique Mall. His trail is scheduled for May 8. He is being represented by court-appointed attorneys in all of the criminal cases.

Mayhew is currently incarcerated in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin, Va. Mayhew has a lengthy criminal record, according to authorities, with theft charges filed against him in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Virginia and Washington.

“He appears to be a career criminal, a career thief,” said Donald Caldwell, commonwealth attorney for Roanoke County.

Mayhew is charged with starting this crime spree during the first part of April 2007 in Virginia communities off of I-80.

Showcases were broken into on April 3, 2007 at The Roanoke Antique Mall and the Old Fort Antique Mall in nearby Wytheville. From Roanoke, the thief took more than $5,000 in old paper currency from a booth. “

“He was on a rampage,” said Daniel Jones, the owner of the Roanoke Mall. “He was just everywhere. He would take anything small, jewelry, coins and paper money. We have a video clips of him, showing him breaking into showcases. There was one showcase which contained high-end watches. He kept trying to break into that one, but couldn’t get into it. He kept going back to that case, but was never able to get in.”

At the Old Fort Antique Mall, silver dollars were taken, in addition to gold wedding rings, and more than $5,000 in coins, Confederate currency and Civil War items.

It also believed that Mayhew may have been involved in similar thefts in North Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio.

It was a story and photo that appeared in AntiqueWeek on May 21 that lead to his capture, according to Jones and police officials.

“That’s when things really started happening,” said Chief Deputy Keith Dunagan from the Wythe County Sheriff’s Department, which spearheaded the organization. “It had a lot of impact. That’s when the antique community really rallied around on this and we began getting a lot of calls.”

The Roanoke Antique Mall also ran an advertisement in the AntiqueWeek, with a full picture of the alleged thief.

Calls came into both The Roanoke Antique Mall and sheriff’s department.

“People all up and down the valley saw the picture and story, cut it out and posted it at their businesses,” Jones said. “That’s what did it … it just got too hot for Mayhew in this area, his picture was everywhere up and down the East Coast. I kind of think that’s why he went out west. It was just too hot for him here.”

Information received from an antique mall in Springfield, Ohio turned up a license number for a truck allegedly owned by Mayhew’s girlfriend, registered in Arkansas. From there, police located Mayhew in the state of Washington where he was arrested and returned to Virginia where criminal charges were filed.

Jones reviewed police photos of Mayhew shortly after his arrest to ascertain if he was the same individual who allegedly broke into cases at the Roanoke Antique Mall. Jones said he was able to make a positive identification on the suspect.

“He looked rough when they caught him,” Jones said. “It looks like he had a rough time of it.”

Mayhew may be charged in other cases outside of Virginia, according to authorities. There may also be other arrests in the case.

It was reported he had possession of stolen items when he was arrested, however, specific details were sketchy at press time. All the same, Jones said there was little chance that restitution to booth owners - at least at The Roanoke Antique Mall - would be forthcoming.

Jones, however, stressed that antique mall owners need to work together, be aggressive and persistent in thwarting professional criminals that thrive on victimizing antique dealers.

“Every mall and antique shop should know that just reporting a crime will not result in anything being done,” he says. “It is necessary to press the issue and do everything you can on your own to publicize the theft and any information that might identify the thief. The police will not necessarily follow upon your information unless you press the issue.

“If you have video evidence make multiple copies and make sure you keep duplicates. It can get lost easily. We all need to work together, as in this case, to catch these people, especially the very active professionals who travel from place to place.”

Eric C. Rodenberg