I found this very interesting article about the nefarious crime of Gnome Knapping from the Oregonian. I thought you would like it.

Police nab alleged gnome-napper

Kimberly Baker-Bundy, whose home was described as a "chop shop" of garden ornaments, is in custody

02/19/04

DANA TIMS

The mystery of the missing garden gnomes may finally have been solved.

Kimberly Rae Baker-Bundy, facing a Washington County Circuit Court theft warrant, turned herself in to the county jail late last week and now faces trial on the charges.

Although the 49-year-old Sherwood resident has not entered a plea, police think she roamed far and wide through Washington and Clackamas counties, perhaps for years, allegedly stealing items not solidly nailed down from area lawns, gardens and backyards.

"I've never seen a case like this," Sherwood police Detective Dwight Onchi said. "She literally had more stuff than you can imagine."

Judge Marco A. Hernandez issued a warrant for Baker-Bundy's arrest after she failed to appear in court for a mandatory Feb. 6 call date.

Sherwood police Officer Jeff Fitzpatrick saw Baker-Bundy in Sherwood the following day, but wasn't able to arrest her because the warrant hadn't been activated, Onchi said. Baker-Bundy then turned herself in to jail authorities on Valentine's Day.

Baker-Bundy was being held at the jail Wednesday on $20,000 security, a jail spokesman said. She is charged with 14 counts of second-degree theft and 11 counts of third-degree theft, Onchi said.

Police began investigating the case in late 2002, when Onchi noticed a trend of police reports describing apparently random thefts of weathered birdhouses, gargoyles, ceramic frogs, signs and numerous other knickknacks.

"I kept saying to various officers, one day, we're going to come up on this whole yard full of ornaments," Onchi said. "And that's just what happened."

The case broke just before Christmas that year, when a Sherwood couple, returning to their residence, saw a woman crossing their lawn carrying what appeared to be items from their backyard. The man tried unsuccessfully to stop her from driving off, but managed to get her license plate number, Onchi said.

The case took so long to put together, he said, due mainly to the difficulty of matching specific items recovered from Baker-Bundy's former residence with photographs of missing lawn items supplied by victims.

By the time police obtained a warrant to search the residence, Onchi said, they found huge piles of doormats, glass baubles, wagon wheels, wind chimes, lawn deer and numerous other items.

Inside the house, Onchi found what he called a lawn-ornament "chop shop." Baker-Bundy, using a special cart placed over metal plating, allegedly was repainting many of the items, perhaps for resale, he said.

"Her favorite colors were black and red," he said. "She was a busy camper, too. The place was so crowded you could barely walk through it."

His department received more than 200 calls in the following days, some from the state of Washington, from people claiming lawn-theft losses.

"I had to tell people, she's not the thief of the world," Onchi said. "It opened up this door of people stealing things all over the place."

You can reach Dana Tims at 503-294-5973 or by e-mail at danatims@news.oregonian.com.

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