Bradenton (Florida): Police in Florida have made an arrest in the theft of Bahamian Demetrius Pinder’s Olympic gold medal, and have recovered the precious medal.
The Olympic gold, which hangs from a purple lanyard and has images representing the 2012 London Olympics on both sides with 4x400m inscribed on the bottom portion of the front side, was stolen from Pinder’s truck after he accidentally left it in the centre console.
Pinder said he typically carries the medal with him because he likes to show it to kids and, while its worth is only about $1,000, the emotional value it holds for him is priceless.
Thursday, detectives in Bradenton located the man suspected in the theft, 22-year-old Allen Jeffrey Nichols and he was arrested. At the time of his arrest, Nichols did not have the medal on him.
Good news came Pinder’s way by nightfall though, when officials announced they found the medal and had it in their possession.
Nichols was charged with grand theft, a second degree felony. Detectives are now seeking further leads to determine if anyone else was involved in the theft.
“It feels as if I’m back on the podium again,” said Pinder, worrying that he might not ever see the medal again.
Pinder won the gold, after he alongwith Chris Brown, Michael Mathieu and Ramon Miller ran a national record time of 2:56.72 to snatch the gold away from the US, who had a 60-year stranglehold on the Olympic title.
The US were second in 2:57.05, and Trinidad and Tobago finished third in 2:59.40.
