A dying thief who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” since he needed to pull off “one final score” is anticipated to stay out of prison just after he’s sentenced Monday.
Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole the slippers in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He gave into temptation immediately after an outdated mob affiliate informed him the sneakers had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured benefit, his attorney revealed in a memo to the federal court forward of his sentencing in Duluth.
The FBI recovered the sneakers in 2018 when a person else tried to claim a reward. Martin wasn’t billed with stealing them right until past 12 months.
He pleaded guilty in Oct to theft of a big artwork, admitting to utilizing a hammer to smash the glass of the museum doorway and display screen situation to take the slippers. But his motivation remained primarily a thriller till defense attorney Dane DeKrey uncovered it this month.
Martin, who life around Grand Rapids, mentioned at the October hearing that he hoped to clear away what he imagined had been serious rubies from the footwear and provide them. But a human being who bargains in stolen items, known as a fence, informed him the rubies ended up glass, Martin stated. So he obtained rid of the slippers.
DeKrey wrote in his memo that Martin’s unknown previous mob associate persuaded him to steal the slippers as “one last score,” even even though Martin had appeared to have “at last set his demons to rest” soon after finishing his last jail term approximately 10 years back.
“At initially, Terry declined the invitation to participate in the heist. But previous practices die tough, and the considered of a ‘final score’ kept him up at night time,” DeKrey wrote. “After a great deal contemplation, Terry had a prison relapse and resolved to take part in the theft.”
Both equally sides are recommending that Main U.S. District Decide Patrick Schiltz sentence Martin to time served simply because he is housebound in hospice care and is predicted to die within just six months. He involves continual oxygen remedy for persistent obstructive pulmonary dysfunction and was in a wheelchair when he pleaded responsible.
Federal sentencing suggestions would normally recommend a sentence of about 4 1/2 many years to 6 years, even though a person with Martin’s felony background could get an even longer phrase. But his health “is simply too fragile,” prosecutors wrote in a courtroom submitting. An additional prosecution filing explained both of those sides agreed he ought to be ordered to pay back $23,500 in restitution to the museum, even although he seemingly does not have the dollars.
In accordance to DeKrey, Martin experienced no idea about the cultural significance of the ruby slippers and had under no circumstances noticed “The Wizard of Oz.” As a substitute, DeKrey claimed, the “old Terry” with a lifelong heritage involving burglary and acquiring stolen residence beat out the “new Terry” who had come to be “a contributing member of society” right after his 1996 release from prison.
After the fence informed Martin the rubies were bogus, DeKrey wrote, he gave the slippers to his aged mob affiliate and informed him he hardly ever desired to see them all over again. The lawyer explained Martin never ever heard from the male again. Martin has refused to discover everyone else who was involved in the theft, and no person else has at any time been charged in the scenario.
The FBI by no means disclosed accurately how it tracked down the slippers. The bureau mentioned a guy approached the insurance provider in 2017 and claimed he could assist get better them but demanded more than the $200,000 reward staying offered. The slippers ended up recovered for the duration of an FBI sting in Minneapolis the subsequent yr.
Federal prosecutors have put the slippers’ market place value at about $3.5 million.
In the vintage 1939 musical, Garland’s character, Dorothy, had to click the heels of her ruby slippers a few situations and repeat, “There’s no area like residence,” to return to Kansas from Oz. She wore several pairs all through filming, but only 4 reliable pairs are recognised to keep on being.
Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw experienced loaned a person pair to the museum when Martin stole them. The other 3 are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of American Historical past and a personal collector.
Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922. She lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, till she was 4, when her loved ones moved to Los Angeles. She died in 1969.
The Judy Garland Museum, situated in the dwelling in which she lived, suggests it has the world’s major assortment of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.
