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Case involving stolen Veterans of Foreign Wars cannon settled

The South County Spotlight - 6/9/2017

Man who stole McCormick Park cannon to pay $38K to St. Helens VFW Post 1440

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A Terrebonne man accused of stealing a World War II cannon from McCormick Park last year will pay $38,000 to the St. Helens Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1440 as part of a civil compromise, Columbia County Circuit Court documents show.

Charles Hegele, 68, was arrested by the St. Helens Police Department on Feb. 24, 2016, after he unlawfully removed a 105-mm Howitzer artillery cannon from a VFW memorial in McCormick Park in St. Helens.

A court case against Hegele was dismissed May 31 after he and the VFW signed a civil compromise for damages, records show. Hegele, a former Columbia County resident, was accused of stealing a decommissioned World War II cannon that is on loan from the U.S. government to the VFW post, to be used in a public war memorial. The VFW obtained the cannon in 1957.

Hegele pleaded not guilty to first-degree felony theft charges filed against him last April. On May 30, Hegele and his lawyer, Stephen Houze, filed a motion to dismiss the case pursuant to a civil compromise, which was signed by Hegele and VFW Judge Advocate Gene Hester several days prior. A four-day trial for the case had been scheduled to begin in July.

When the cannon was taken last winter, St. Helens City Administrator John Walsh said Hegele had approached him about removing the cannon from the park, but was not given permission to take it. Hegele had argued with Walsh that he had the proper clearance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to possess the cannon, something he claimed the city and its staff did not have. Hegele and his wife, Connie, were planning to open a cannon museum in Crook County where the couple lives and owns an old schoolhouse. Several days after the conversation, Hegele swapped the VFW's cannon in St. Helens with a replica early 1900s-era nautical cannon.

The visual difference in the large, blackened metallic Howitzer and the wooden, whitewashed, handcrafted replica nautical cannon was striking to those who visited the park. The replica cannon was removed eight months later, just prior to Veterans Day, at the request of VFW members. Dale Eugene Hester, the judge advocate for the St. Helens VFW post, called the replacement cannon a "disgrace."

According to the compromise document, the St. Helens VFW post members "have received satisfaction for any and all injuries sustained as a result of said conduct."

The cannon has been held by the St. Helens Police Department as evidence throughout the legal proceedings. It is unclear when the cannon will be returned to McCormick Park and reinstalled in the Veterans Memorial.

Hegele had done some work on the cannon after he had taken it, and Moss previously stated it would need to be inspected before being placed back in a public space.