GBA Helps Recover Stolen Giant Gold Nugget
Fast action by Gold Buyers of Alaska helped Anchorage police arrested a man they say tried to sell a large gold nugget stolen from the Wells Fargo bank’s Alaska headquarters, but the thief remains at large. Nicho Mott, the manager of Gold Buyers of Alaska in Eagle Riv- er, said the alleged seller, 19-year-old Austin Sala, brought in a 17.5-ounce gold nugget on Monday that was the size of a small football. Mott said it was clear that Sala knew nothing about gold or its worth. In addition, the nugget had been hacked apart. “When you were looking at it on one side it looked completely unaltered,” Mott said. The other side of the nugget, however, showed the marks where someone had cut away small pieces. Mott said it near- ly brought tears to his eyes to see the damage on such a rare specimen. “It would be like taking a Picasso painting and letting a kid draw with crayons on top of it,” Mott said. “It just absolutely destroyed it.” Mott said the nugget in its natural state would have been worth about $60,000, but with damage, the value dropped to about $17,000. He called police, who arrested Sala at his shop. According to charging documents, Sala told detectives the nugget was left behind in a hotel room by a man who originally offered to split the profits if Sala would sell the nugget for him.
In addition to an outstanding felony warrant, Sala is also charged with two counts of theft. Sala was arrested on a previous felony warrant for weapons misconduct and assault. He was also charged with theft, police said. He was out of jail on $5,000 bond when he was arrested, according to online court records. Sala was convicted of third degree theft in May 2018 after de- manding money at gunpoint from a woman who was trying to buy marijuana from him, police said. Police do not believe Sala is the person who originally stole the nugget. This incident is another reminder that those involved in sales and purchase of gold need to be vigilant for potential thieves. Detectives are still looking for the person who original- ly stole the nugget, as well as anyone else trying to sell pieces of it. Anyone with information is asked to call An- chorage dispatch at 311 or Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP and anchoragecrimestoppers.com. Thank you to Gold Buyers of Alaska for their thoroughness and commitment to the Alaska Miners Association and their dili- gence in recognizing the stolen gold nugget. This story originally appeared on KTVA and in the Anchorage Daily News.
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