Man charged with stealing antique revolver

Posted at: 02/09/2010 8:54 AM

Police have charged an Orleans County man with stealing a revolver believed to have been owned by a member of the Jesse James gang.

Police in West Seneca, near Buffalo, charged 38-year-old Michael Ortiz of Medina with grand larceny.

The revolver dating back to the 1860s was taken last fall from the West Seneca Historical Society and recovered in a Greece pawn shop. The gun is appraised at between $3,000 and $5,000.

The Colt .40-caliber percussion revolver had been owned by a hermit known as "Old Shep," who lived in a shack along Cazenovia Creek until he died in the 1930s. He claimed to be the last survivor of the Jesse James gang.

Ortiz and his 35-year-old brother, Roy Ortiz, also face charges in connection with thefts of antiques in Warsaw, Caledonia, and Penn Yan.

For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.

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