Man sentenced to 10 years in theft of art from Fort Worth home

An Arlington man with an extensive criminal history was sentenced to 10 years in prison after stealing artwork and other valuables from a Fort Worth home, authorities said.

Royce Hooper, 36, was charged with theft with two previous theft convictions for stealing a Salvador Dali lithograph from a woman’s home on White Settlement Road, according to Parker County prosecutor, Jeff Swain.

Authorities recovered a lithograph of The Lamb, which the victim, 59, valued at $4,000, and returned it to the owner, Swain said. They also recovered a Thomas Kinkade painting, The Clocktower Cottage, and some Sacajawea coins and returned those to the owner, Swain said.

A sculpture valued at $7,000 and jewelry believed to be worth more than $35,000 are still missing, Swain said.

Hooper, who also went by the name of “The Truth” and was trying to start a music business with the victim’s son, had access to the woman’s home and had lived there off and on, said Swain, who tried the case with Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Catania.

In December 2014, the woman noticed that she was missing some jewelry and called the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, a news release from the Parker County district attorney’s office said.

The victim knew that only her relatives, Hooper, and his girlfriend had access to the items, Swain said. When investigators could not connect Hooper to the thefts, the victim continued to allow family members and Hooper access to her home, Swain said.

Then, in June, 2015, the woman noticed that the Dali lithograph, a Thomas Kinkade painting, several other pieces of art, golf clubs and several other items worth thousands of dollars were missing and contacted investigators.

This time when police checked pawn records, they found that Hooper had pawned the lithograph, coins and golf clubs, and that his girlfriend had pawned the Kinkade painting.

“He pawned the stuff at four different pawn shops on four different days,” Swain said.

Hooper has four convictions for identity theft, two for auto theft, two for felony thefts and one for tampering with a government record, Swain said. Since this was his 10th felony conviction, the district attorney’s office felt that Hooper deserved the maximum sentence, Swain said.

“I also found Mr. Hooper’s breach of the trust given to him by the victim particularly offensive,” Swain said. “She did nothing but open her heart and her home to him when he needed help and he chose to repay her by stealing some of her most treasured items.”

Hooper will be eligible for parole in two years, Swain said.

“Being eligible for parole doesn’t mean that you automatically receive it,” Swain said. “That is up to the Board of Pardons and Paroles.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Man sentenced to 10 years in theft of art from Fort Worth home."