A man with a Pez dispenser tattooed on his forearm was arrested by King County Sheriff's Deputies for his involvement in the sale of two cases of stolen Schulmerich hand bells, belonging to a bell choir at a Shoreline church, according to court records.

 

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Police were called to the Prince of Peace Church on Wednesday November 18th, after church employees found a broken window in a musical equipment storage room, and noticed two cases of hand bells were missing.

A muddy shoe print was found on the ground outside the window, though with little else to work with the case was cold.

However, thanks to the intrepid police work of the neighboring Bothell PD, who contacted the pez-dispenser ornamented Robert Glenn Keck, a 27 year-old Shoreline resident, and a female companion, Angela Rene Carmichael,  while—according to police—the two attempted to sell two cases of bells outside a Bothell shopping center, the case was blown back open.

Police approached the two—even going as far as to call medics to the scene to treat a gash to Keck's hand—receiving a dubious-at-best story about how the bells were acquired and  two suspiciously different accounts of how Keck's hand was injured.  But lacking any firm evidence they declined make arrests, instead opting to notify the King County Sheriff's Department, who later tracked Keck and Carmichael down.

After initial corroboration from Keck's family, who claimed the bells belonged to his deceased grandmother, Keck's story wore thin. Later he claimed he got the bells by giving a ride to a black man who happened to be near a friend's apartment (also suspiciously across the street from the burgled church). Working with detectives, Keck, who was apparently asking only about $25 per case, recovered both cases. He was booked into jail on suspicion of 2nd degree theft and trafficking stolen property on December 8th.

Police documents are unclear if the two used the money made from the sale to purchase drugs. (Not to be too cynical, but I think we all know how these hustles typically work.)

Lawrence J. Monger, a member of the church's bell choir—and more specifically the individual in charge of bell upkeep—positively identified the two sets of bells.

For his part, Keck, though initially cooperative, grew angry with police after they confiscated his shoe as evidence, in order to match its tread to a similar shoe print found outside the church.

Keck said they were his only shoes.

Damage to the church window is estimated at around $100    

God bless us everyone!