Details emerge in museum burglary
“Everybody likes the whole Hollywood aspect of this case. It very well was not.” Mark Metzger III, a lawyer representing Lewis Yates Robertson
The man and woman arrived at the River Oaks museum the same way they would later leave: by boat.
After approximately 7 minutes of trying to get into the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens about a month ago, the pair succeeded through an air vent grate into the museum’s basement, according to court records.
Once inside, the two visited various rooms, opening a closed cabinet and taking an empty, wrapped Christmas present that was used for display before putting it back. But then they were interrupted when the museum’s alarm started ringing. On a surveillance camera, a security guard saw the two in the museum’s front foyer, looking through the wooden cabinet.
The pair ran off when the guard announced himself and headed toward Buffalo Bayou, where they boarded a small metal boat with a motor.
Lewis Yates Robertson, 33, this week was charged with burglary of a building.
The details outlined in the court records offer the clearest picture yet of what occurred March 16 when the pair eluded au
thorities through a storm drain tunnel , although questions still remain.
A lawyer representing Robertson, Mark Metzger III, told The Chronicle on Friday there appeared to be no motive or ill will, but he could not comment on many specific details about the case. He said there was no damage to the property and nothing was taken and pointed out Robertson had not been charged with evading.
“There was no plan to do anything illegal,” Metzger said. “This wasn’t like a mission.”
Additionally, Metzger said there’s no evidence of a break-in as mentioned in court documents. To the contrary, he said he had evidence there may have been pre-existing damage to the museum building already and whoever broke in didn’t damage property.
“Everybody likes the whole Hollywood aspect of this case,” he said. “It very well was not.”
Museum officials previously said nothing appeared to be taken and no one was injured. The guard called police after the male suspect yelled and cussed at him, according to the court records. Responding officers said they had seen a boat on the bayou and called Houston police’s dive team.
When the dive team spotted a boat matching the description, the officers announced their presence, which prompted the pair to exit their vessel and run to the storm drain tunnel, court records say.
In the boat they left behind, authorities found a black backpack with graffiti supplies and papers with various styles of handdrawn patterns of “TOEFLOP,” which has appeared throughout the city, captivating the attention of social media users who post photos of the graffiti and tag the name.
Metzger said he could not comment on the “TOEFLOP” detail, but added that there was “no link” between Robertson and the backpack.
The dive team also found a van — registered to Robertson, records show — at the Buffalo Bayou Partnership boat ramp on North York Street. The van was not authorized to be there, according to records, and a lock securing a gate to the ramp had been cut.
Museum surveillance footage shown to authorities captured visible tattoos on the man’s arms. The woman appears to cover her face from cameras with a large hat and a paper-like object, according to court records.
Robertson has since posted his $1,000 bond.
Among bond conditions was a request he have no contact with several entities, according to court documents, including 2940 Lazy Lane Blvd., the museum’s address.
The museum’s 14-acre property is the former home of late philanthropist Ima Hogg. It contains a collection of decorative art, paintings and furniture. There are more than 2,500 objects displayed onsite throughout 28 rooms and galleries including furniture, paintings, sculpture, prints, ceramics, glass, metals, and textiles.