Baltimore Sun

January 29, 2010

Shoe theft suspect arrested

Police in Delaware announced Friday night that they have arrested a man in connection with a spree of burglaries over the past two decades in which thousands of pairs of men's shoes and photos of men were stolen.

The break in the case came after a passerby spotted three duffel bags of shoes left in a Maryland creek near the Delaware line and reported seeing a person drive off in a yellow Mitubishi Eclipse, according to authorities.

Police said the suspect, from Delaware, mainly targeted student housing in the off-campus area of the University of Delaware, striking during breaks such as Christmas and Easter.

Police said the searched the man's home and seized 150 boxes of shoes and photograhs, photos taken from a college fraternity, eight guitars, one mandolin, eight snowboards, a surfboard and sports equipment, all linked to burglaries.

Authoritie also said they confirmed that the shoes found in the Maryland creek were from the burglaries, which they said span a period of 20 years.

Walter J. Rubincon, 46, of Newark, has been charged with 25 counts of burglary, 77 counts of theft and 15 counts of criminal mischief.

Here's a statement from police in Newark, Delaware:

SUBJECT: Shoe Burglar In Custody

The Newark Police Department announces the arrest of the “Shoe Burglar”.  Working from the description of the yellow Mitsubishi Eclipse provided by a witness, the investigator was able to connect the defendant to numerous burglaries and thefts involving men’s shoes and photographs of men.

Three truckloads of stolen property were recovered from the defendant’s house.  The property includes approximately 150 boxes of shoes and photographs.  A count has not yet been conducted, but it is a safe estimate that the boxes contain several thousand shoes.  Several fraternity composite pictures were also seized.  The remaining recovered items include eight guitars, one mandolin, eight snowboards, a surfboard, and sports equipment that were also stolen during the burglaries.  It has been confirmed that the shoes recovered last week from the Little Elk Creek in Cecil County, MD were part of the shoe burglar’s stash.  The investigation revealed that the defendant has been stealing shoes in and around Newark for about 20 years.