Two Texas men have been sentenced to prison for stealing textbooks, particularly in Wisconsin, though they are believed to have conducted their operations at colleges in Minnesota, North Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, and Washington too. Considering the maximum sentences they could have received, they are rather fortunate.
Ryan S. Lewis was sentenced to eight months in prison; Genesis Garcia Abellar received six months. Both are from Houston and each is 35 years old. Additionally, each faces three years of supervised release after their time is served, and each must make restitution of $22,136.57. Still, it could have been worse. The charges could have resulted in as long as 15 years in jail.
The charges were focused on thefts at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, but they stole from other campuses of the University of Wisconsin as well as other states. They entered professors' offices and stole textbooks, including more desirable teacher's copies with additional information. They would send them back to Texas where they were sold to unsuspecting students. It seems likely their traveling so far to steal the books was designed to make it harder to trace the missing books.
What did them in was the security cameras. The suspects were seen on camera at multiple colleges, but were unknown to local officials. However, as various colleges experienced thefts, they contacted each other to share evidence. They quickly concluded that the thieves must be from outside of the area. They got a major break when they saw one of the suspects, later identified as Abellar, using a cell phone. They proceeded to check through phone and IP address records to identify possible suspects. These were compared with records at other colleges until they finally connected them to a phone registered in Houston. That enabled them to locate the likely suspects, and an investigation of Lewis' apartment revealed a trove of textbooks.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
![[UWGB photo]](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ArticleImages/ac317315-1f14-41c6-ae3b-365a30083a40.JPG)
