One of the two people wanted in connection with the thefts of historical plaques from Omaha’s Central High School has been booked into the Douglas County Jail.
A Douglas County judge issued an arrest warrant charging Matthew Fadley, 35, on March 7. Fadley was arrested March 12 in Pottawattamie County and returned to Omaha on Tuesday afternoon. A time for his bail hearing has not been set.
Fadley, a Council Bluffs resident, was wanted on suspicion of two counts of theft by unlawful taking of items worth at least $5,000 and two counts of theft by unlawful taking of items worth between $1,500 and $5,000 from the school. A 41-year-old woman, Nicole Maloney of Omaha, is also wanted after being charged in a Douglas County arrest warrant in connection with the theft of more than one dozen plaques over the past few months.
At Central High School, security footage showed thefts occurring at least eight times over the course of six months outside the school and the football stadium, according to Central Foundation Executive Director Michele Roberts. The first theft occurred Aug. 10.
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Plaques stolen from the school included one commemorating it as the former site of the territorial capitol and another commemorating the signing of the first state constitution of Nebraska in 1866 at the site. After Omaha Crime Stoppers released footage of the suspects in the case, the Omaha Police Department issued warrants for Fadley and Maloney.
According to the affidavits, both suspects in the Central case sold metal to a recycling company in Omaha. Court records from Pottawattamie County show Fadley was previously convicted of similar crimes in Council Bluffs.
In November, he was sentenced to probation in Pottawattamie County for stealing brass grates from a fountain in Bayliss Park in Council Bluffs. Fadley was recently found to have violated his probation due to failing to obtain employment or show proof he was seeking employment, failing to report for a meeting with his probation officer and testing positive on four occasions for methamphetamine and amphetamines.
Anyone with information about Maloney’s whereabouts is urged to contact contact Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, at or on the P3 Tips mobile app. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
kevin.cole@owh.com, 402-444-1272