After an alleged thief attempted to sell two Super Bowl rings to the shop featured on Pawn Stars, the rings will soon be returned to their rightful owner. Back in February, retired two-time Super Bowl champion Mark May, noticed his beloved hardware had gone missing after he wore them during a charity event in Scottsdale, Arizona.
At the appearance, the 59-year-old former Washington Redskins tackle stayed at the Sheraton Hotel, where the rings as well as other jewelry belonging to May resurfaced mysteriously in the safe in the very room where he had been staying — two months later, KTVK reported.
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After being found, the rings were allegedly brought to the hotel’s lead engineer Marcel Behnert. But instead of returning the jewelry to May, Nehnert allegedly bought them to Gold & Silver Pawn in Las Vegas, known by many as the shop featured on the History Channel series.
In July, May received a call from Pawn Stars’ high-end sports memorabilia collector Diamond Don, who asked May if he was trying to sell his Super Bowl rings, ABC 15 reported. That’s when May explained that his rings, which had his last name, team name and jersey number on them, had been stolen.
Later, the pawn shop told police that Behnert was there on July 2, attempting to sell the rings for $12,000. Surveillance footage captured Behnert trying to sell the rings. The shop’s general manager, Andy Zimmerman, said Behnert’s asking price raised a few eyebrows.
“I asked the pawn broker how much the guy was looking for, and he told me the amount, and my first reaction was, ‘Each?’ And he goes, ‘No, for both of them,’” Zimmerman told ABC 15.
“Given what he was looking for, I thought that doesn’t have a good sign to it. So I told my pawn broker, go back out there and counter, and see what he does. We countered at a lower price, and he accepted it, which led me to believe even further that there was a problem,” Zimmerman continued.
Shortly after that, he notified police, who hatched a plan to have Behnert return the next day to sell the rings for $10,000. When he arrived, police took him into custody for questioning, where he allegedly confessed to taking the jewelry, KTVK reports. He was then booked, but made bail and returned to Arizona on July 5.
On July 8, he was arrested at work after police found May’s watches while searching his home. He has since been charged with theft and trafficking in stolen property, according to ABC 15.
May will be reunited with his rings next week — something he’s grateful for.
“I thought they were gone forever,” May told ABC 15. “I attribute (their recovery) to probably four or five things. One is luck. I’m lucky to get them back. Two, good police work by the Las Vegas Police Department. Three the integrity of the Pawn Star guys and Diamond Don. And four probably greed and stupidity by the guy who was trying to sell them — one to a pawn shop, because nationwide, they’re all connected when something like that comes up. And two, to do it on television when they tell you point blank: If you don’t have a receipt or you don’t have proof of ownership, and it’s something that’s high priced, we’re not interested.”
