Man Arrested In Connection With Stolen McKinley Park Trellis

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Police have made an arrest in the case of the metal trellis stolen from McKinley Park in Sacramento.

An anonymous tip from someone at the Natomas backyard wedding led to the location of the stolen $6,000 trellis taken from the McKinley Park rose garden at the beginning of May.

On Tuesday morning, detectives arrested 53-year-old Richard Hengeveld on the charge of grand theft. He was already in the Sacramento County Main Jail facing charges unrelated to the theft, according to Sacramento Police Department spokesperson Ofc. Matthew McPhail.

The call reporting that the trellis had been found came to Cecily Hastings, who helps run the rose garden.

"A friend with a conscience that didn't like the idea of somebody bragging about stolen property," she said.

She called police, who went out to locate the stolen trellis.

"Since the thing is 10 to 12 feet tall, they were able to just drive around that area and actually spot it over the top of a 6-foot wooden fence," she said.

A Facebook page believed to belong to Hengeveld contained a post asking for help to move the stolen trellis to Natomas, where the wedding would take place.

Replacing the expensive trellis would have taken time and money from the volunteers who maintain the rose garden.

Police say they don't think the bride and groom were involved in stealing the trellis.

"The Sacramento Police Department is proud to have worked collaboratively with members of the community to recover the stolen trellis and help restore this iconic park site to its previous condition," McPhail stated.