Thief Who Allegedly Stole Elvis Jacket from Casino Nabbed by Florida Cops

Posted on: April 16, 2024, 02:41h. 

Last updated on: April 16, 2024, 02:46h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A 50-year-old man was apprehended this past weekend for allegedly stealing a jacket — once owned by Elvis Presley — from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino last year.

Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley, pictured above. A garment once belonging to Elvis was stolen from a casino. A suspect was arrested. (Image: Rotten Tomatoes)

Christopher Owen, 50, of Pompano Beach, Fla., was charged Saturday with grand theft. Days later, he was apparently released from a local jail with his case turned over to local prosecutors.

The theft took place on February 14, 2023 at the Hollywood, Fla. gaming property.

Woman Assisted

Owen allegedly stole the jacket and gave it to an unnamed woman accomplice. They both then fled from the crime scene. It appears the woman has not been charged.

The jacket was valued at $11,670, according to police. No word if the casino ever got the jacket returned, according to Miami TV station WPLG.

The Elvis jacket was on a mannequin that was blocked off from the public by ropes when it was swiped.

Tribal police officers reviewed surveillance video at the casino which showed Owen taking the pricey item, according to Miami TV station WTVJ.

Police also discovered Owen presented a driver’s license to receive cash at the casino around the time of the theft. That let officers more easily identify him as a suspect.

In addition, an officer recognized Owen from a prior encounter.

The Elvis jacket was just one rock and roll artifact on display at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Clothes worn by the former king of rock and roll are sought after by collectors.

Jacket Sells for $160K

Last summer, a tailor-made leather and mink coat worn by Elvis Presley was auctioned off for 128 UK pounds in the United Kingdom. That equals roughly US $160K.

The four-foot garment was sold to an American collector at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The auction house said the coat was given by Presley to the brother of his fiancee, Ginger Alden.

In the years after his 1977 death, the coat was auctioned off at an event at Presley’s former Memphis, Tenn. residence known as Graceland.

For me, it encapsulates the glamor of 1970s Vegas — Elvis in a mink coat,” auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told the BBC.

In August, Riley Keough, 34, the eldest of four grandchildren of Elvis Presley, was named the sole trustee of the estate of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley.

Priscilla Presley married Elvis in 1967. They were divorced in 1973.

Keough became Graceland’s new owner last year. An actress and model, she was featured in the Amazon series “Daisy Jones & The Six.”