Man Indicted in Oscars Theft to Fight Case, Attorney Says

The attorney for a man who was indicted by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury for allegedly stealing 55 Academy Award statuettes insisted Thursday that he will fight the case.

Anthony Keith Hart of La Puente was indicted last month in the March 8 theft of the Oscars. His attorney, Stephen Yagman, has insisted that Hart is innocent.

Hart was a dockworker at Roadway Express in Bell when the golden statuettes destined for the Academy Awards show disappeared. All but three of the Oscars were later discovered by a Koreatown salvage man near a dumpster.

Hart and a co-worker, Lawrence Edward Ledent, 38, of West Covina were arrested, but prosecutors at first declined to charge Hart, saying they lacked sufficient evidence. They later presented the case to the grand jury, which delivered an indictment.

Hart, who said Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks orchestrated the arrest to improve the department’s tarnished image, sued the department in July, demanding $20 million in damages.

Yagman, who specializes in police abuse cases, said Hart was indicted Aug. 8 and was arrested and released on his own recognizance on Aug. 14. His next court date is Sept. 18 for a pretrial hearing.

In July, Ledent pleaded no contest to one charge of grand theft and was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to serve five years probation.