Warrant Details Shelton Comic Book Caper

SHELTON — A comic book collector hired a private detective and offered a $5,000 reward to help police catch the suspects who stole more than 500 rare titles from his storage unit.

The collection is worth about $250,000, according to police.

In January, Shelton police announced the arrest of three men in connection to the theft: James Wadsworth, Sr., 49, of Ansonia; James Wadsworth Jr., 30, of Ansonia, and; Saul Salazar, 32, of Shelton.

They are charged with first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny. The charges are felonies, and they are scheduled to appear in court March 18 in Milford.

An arrest warrant on file in court authored by Detective Lubelia DeBrum sheds new light on how police identified the trio as suspects, and the role the comic book collector played in helping to track them down.

The collector contacted police July 25, 2019 and said that someone stole his comic books from his storage unit inside CubeSmart Self Storage at 829 Bridgeport Ave. How the thief got into the unit was not apparent, as there was no sign of a forced entry.

The storage unit held lots of stuff, but the thieves went right for the comic books and left everything else.

The entire self-storage property was surrounded by a fence. A passcode was needed to get into the property, the facility, and the elevator. There was a bunch of security cameras — which provided no useful information to investigators.

The unit itself had a new lock in pristine condition, according to the warrant.

Further complicating the investigation — the collector had not been in the storage unit for about two months, potentially giving the bandits lots of time to cover their tracks and unload their loot.

The more than 500 stolen comic books had many recognizable titles, including:

• “Amazing Fantasy” no. 15, from 1962, featuring the debut of Spider-Man.

• “Amazing Spider-Man” no. 1.

• “Daredevil” no. 1, signed by the legendary Stan Lee.

• “Fantastic Four” no 1.

• Eleven issues of ​“Captain America” from the ​“Golden Age” era of Marvel Comics.

• And lots of ​“Batman” and ​“Superman” comics dating back to the 1930s.

Police began their investigation, which included interviewing a CubeSmart employee, searching police information networks, reviewing video, and talking to the victim’s immediate family members.

On Sept. 3, the collector called police to let them know he came across 14 of his comics on display at Alternate Universe, a comic book/collectable shop in New Haven.

The store owner told the collector he had purchased the titles from three men who came into the store carrying large bags, according to the warrant.

The owner provided police with a phone number and an $800 check the owner wrote to James Wadsworth, Sr. The owner later told police that the collector had a private investigator working the case as well.

Wadsworth was interviewed by police. He allegedly told police he was owed money from a co-worker at Wal-Mart and the comics were a way to settle the debt.

Wadsworth seemed evasive, the warrant alleges, and didn’t seem to know how the co-worker came into possession of the rare comics.

On Oct. 7, the collector contacted police again, saying he had placed an ad offering a reward for information about his stolen collection.

A person contacted him through the ad (the warrant does not state where the ad was placed). The person allegedly knew who stole the comic books from the storage unit. The collector passed the person’s contact info to Shelton police.

The person told police that Wadsworth, his son, and Salazar were connected to the crime. The person said Salazar had a storage unit near the collector’s inside CubeSmart, from which he stole the comics. The Wadsworths helped to sell the comics recovered in New Haven.

The person also told police that the remaining stolen books were in Salazar’s car.

The person also alleged that Salazar was able to get into the locked unit with assistance from a relative working at CubeSmart. However, the warrant does not provide any information confirming the person’s claim.

“(The person) did not have a name or method of entry,” according to the warrant.

A message seeking comment from CubeSmart was left with the company’s corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Shelton police confirmed that Salazar did, in fact, have a storage unit near the collector’s unit.

Police reached out to Salazar, who allegedly told them he had found the comic books. He agreed to show up at police headquarters Oct. 7 for an interview, according to the warrant.

Two hours after missing the scheduled interview, a detective spotted Salazar in a car being driven by a woman. Police pulled the car over after the driver allegedly made an illegal turn.

Salazar got out and said he was on his way to the police department to talk, according to the warrant. Salazar gave a detective permission to look inside the car — where two duffel bags full of comic books were seated.

“In total there were 532 rare comic books stolen. All of these collectibles have been recovered,” the warrant concludes.

The warrant does not have any information about whether anyone collected the reward. The Valley Indy emailed the collector Wednesday for comment but didn’t hear back. His name isn’t being published since he was a victim of a crime.

The warrant is what police use to meet the probable cause threshold to make an arrest. It’s the start of the criminal procedure, not the end. The suspects are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.