Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing “The Wizard of Oz” Ruby Slippers in 2005

Terry Martin, 76, allegedly said he got rid of the shoes once he realized they were made of glass, not ruby

A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to charges against him for stealing the iconic ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, according to reports.

Terry Martin pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of theft of a major artwork, Northern News Now, ABC News and KTSP report.

Martin, of Grand Rapids, Minn. was charged in May, nearly 18 years after the crime, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in North Dakota.

Martin, 76, appeared on Friday in a federal courtroom. According to Northern News Now, he admitted to what authorities have alleged: That he used a small sledgehammer to break into the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids in August 2005, and then broke a glass casing to take the slippers, which he then hid in a trailer.

He also said that he realized he did not want them any longer after noticing the shoes were made of glass, not ruby. He said got rid of the pair, the outlet reports, but it isn't clear what happened to them afterwards or how police were able to obtain them.

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The FBI and Grand Rapids Police Department secured the slippers in 2018. The pair stolen by Martin were one of four remaining pairs of slippers used in the movie and are “among the most recognizable memorabilia” in the film industry, the press statement from the attorney's office said.

Martin's lawyer has said that he has been cooperative.

“I think Terry is facing his own mortality, and I think when people are reaching that point in their life, they cut through the pleasantries and talk turkey,” lawyer Dane DeKrey said, according to ABC News. 

Martin will likely be sentenced in the coming months, Northern News Now reports.

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