Arrest made after actor Seagal’s timepieces absolutely,positively didn’t get there overnight
By Daily Press staff
POLICE HDQRTS. — Santa Monica police arrested a Los Angeles man on Tuesday after he allegedly stole two watches belonging to actor Steven Seagal, valued at $100,000 apiece, police said.
Ronald Taylor Jr., 23, a Federal Express employee, allegedly intercepted the watches as they were being mailed overnight to the watchmaker in Las Vegas who originally created them. The watchmaker planned to display them for a trade show and then return them to Seagal.
But when the watches failed to arrive the following day, the watchmaker grew concerned and called Seagal’s employee who had originally mailed them on March 8. The employee contacted Fed Ex representatives, who told her the watches would arrive the following day.
On March 10, when the watches didn’t arrive, the woman again called Fed Ex representatives, who told her there had been a lot of activity on the tracking number and assured her the watches would arrive on March 13, police said.
That’s when the watchmaker searched on eBay and recognized one of the watches was being sold for $2,500. He made an offer of $3,000, contacted the seller and asked if he had any more models like it. Taylor allegedly told the watchmaker he had one other watch.
The watchmaker contacted Seagal’s employee, who then reported the incident to police. SMPD detectives determined the suspect was a Fed Ex employee. At 4:35 p.m. on Tuesday, police arrested Taylor at his Los Angeles residence for grand theft. He was taken to Santa Monica Jail. His bail is set at $200,000.
The watches are described as being in an 18K Russian gold case and had a handmade dial painted with super luminova — black, orange and green colors.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 16, 2006. Read the original PDF.