Two arrested for museum dinosaur theft

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — A man and woman turned themselves in a day after State Capitol Police released surveillance video of the theft of a dinosaur model from a Raleigh museum.

Logan Todd Ritchey, 21, of Raleigh, and Alyssa Ann Lavacca, 21, of Holly Springs, are charged with two felony counts of theft or destruction of property of public libraries, museums, etc.

The NC Department of Public Safety says Ritchey was being held on a $2,000 secured bond, and Lavacca was released on an unsecured bond.

The couple is accused of stealing a dinosaur hatchling model valued at about $10,000 from the Museum of Natural Sciences earlier this week. Investigators also think they stole something from the Museum of History. Both items have been recovered.

“I doubt these two individuals realized the seriousness of tampering with artifacts and exhibits in a public museum,” State Capitol Police Chief Glen Allen said. “The dissemination of the security camera video of this incident by the news media was instrumental in bringing this case to fruition.”

Police say last night after business hours, a man dropped off a bag near the rear service entrance of the Museum of Natural Sciences. He left the scene before officers arrived, but the bag contained the dinosaur replica that had been stolen from the museum Monday.

This morning, the two suspects voluntarily went to the State Capitol Police Department and turned themselves in, investigators say.