Police Say Man Copped To Bizarre Theft

JULY 14--A Louisiana man has admitted to stealing and pawning a $4500 ring owned by his girlfriend and then using the ill-gotten proceeds for a down payment on an engagement ring for the same woman, police say.

Justin Pope, 29, was arrested yesterday for the theft of a ring that belonged to Samantha Futch, 40. Pope allegedly stole the ring in mid-2019 from Futch’s residence in Downsville, a village about 25 miles from Monroe.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Pope yesterday confessed to “taking a ring that belonged to his then-girlfriend.” Pope told investigators that he sold the ring “at a local pawn shop, then used the money for a down payment on an engagement ring for her.”

The stolen ring, cops reported, was valued at $4499. The affidavit does not reveal how Pope, seen above, was identified as a suspect (or why it took two years for an arrest).

Pope told Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies that he sought to retrieve the ring a month after pawning it, “only to learn that it had been melted for scrap.”

The court filing lists separate addresses for Pope and Futch, so it appears the pair is no longer a couple. Pope, who does not have a criminal record, is free on $500 bond. (1 page)