Davenport man in custody after police say he vandalized missing Bettendorf statue
A 33-year-old Davenport man was in custody Saturday in connection with vandalism of a Bettendorf statue that went missing earlier this year.
Romeo Radcliff faces felony charges of second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree theft, according to Scott County Court arrest affidavits.
'Skipper,' by Quad City artist Ted McElhiney, depicted a boy skipping rocks on the Mississippi River in Leach Park, Bettendorf. The statue was stolen from Leach Park between Jan. 8 and Jan, 9, 2025, police say.
Officers say in affidavits that Radcliff is seen earlier this year on camera scraping parts of the bronze statue. Radcliff admitted to scraping the statute but denied stealing it or knowing that the parts were stolen, police say in affidavits.
Radcliff 'scraped the head, hands and one foot from the statue,' affidavits show. The total value of the stolen statue is between $4,000-$5,000.
Scott County Court documents say pretrial release was revoked for Radcliff, who was arrested on a warrant and was being held Saturday in Scott County Jail on a $5,000 secured bond and a $10,000 cash-only bond.
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