Suspected thief linked to Hollywood art heist

Court records show Singh was released in early January on $5,000 bail.

A few days later, he showed up in Arizona.

Scottsdale police rushed to the downtown gallery district before hours Jan. 7 after an American Fine Art gallery employee called to report a burglary in progress.

Police and court records reveal what happened next:

The employee said a burglar alarm went off at the gallery, located at the corner of Scottsdale Road and Main Street. The employee discovered several pieces of art missing from the walls. He heard someone talking upstairs. He warned the gallery owner, who called 911.

Gabe Rodriguez/ABC15

Police found a white BMW in the alley next to the gallery with a California license plate that was later registered to Singh. An emergency access ladder led to the roof. Police believe someone used the ladder to climb onto the roof.

Police spotted the suspect on the roof. Using a drone camera, they observed him running back and forth, appearing to drop items on the roof. Then he tried to hide by lying down near an air conditioning unit.

He ignored police orders, so they closed in with rifles and a K-9 and arrested him.

Scottsdale Police Department

He told police he was homeless and went up to the roof to sleep. He denied entering the gallery or owning a BMW. Police found car keys belonging to the BMW next to the suspect on the roof.

Police believe he entered the gallery by breaking down a metal door on the roof. Once inside, he walked around and removed seven pieces of art from the wall, including three Picassos, two Andy Warhols and a Keith Haring poster. The artwork was valued at a total of $250,000. Police believe he hid the artwork on the roof of a nearby business while trying to hide from police.

Police had to quickly retrieve the artwork inside as rain threatened. They took photos with their cellphones, then put the artwork in evidence bags and carried it down from the roof.

Scottsdale Police Department

Singh was charged with burglary, theft and possession of burglary tools and pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $50,000, with the requirement that he wear an electronic ankle monitor.

He was warned at an initial court hearing: You cannot leave the state of Arizona without permission from your judge.

But that's exactly what he did.

Court records indicate his ankle monitor was cut off and found in a trash can on March 6.

Attempts to contact and locate the defendant were unsuccessful, his pretrial services agent wrote to the court.

An arrest warrant was issued against him.

He failed to appear a month later for an April 3 hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court. His lawyer appeared on his behalf. During that hearing, ABC15 learned that Singh was once again in custody, this time in Nevada. He is expected to be extradited to Arizona to face criminal charges.

Certainly, these are serious charges, his lawyer, Julio Laboy, told ABC15 outside the courthouse after the hearing. He operates under the presumption of innocence. So until the whole process is completed, he is currently innocent.”

Laboy added that there are other developments in the case, which I cannot speak to at this time, that will impact the final decision.

When ABC15 later learned of the criminal charges against Singh in California, Laboy would only say, “I'm aware of the allegations.”

High-profile burglaries like the one that happened at American Fine Art are very rare in Scottsdale, said Sgt. Allison Sempsis of the Scottsdale Police Department.

Our officers responded very quickly, she said. And the drone was extremely helpful in finding the man who was hiding.

As for American Fine Art, the owner declined an on-camera interview with ABC15. For them, it's business as usual. All their works have been recovered.

Send an email to Anne Rymanat, ABC15 investigator [email protected]call her at 602-685-6345 or log on to X, formerly known asTwitter,AndFacebook.