An unhoused couple was accused of stealing thousands of dollars' worth of Mesa Public Library books and trying to resell them to a used bookstore to make money, according to police in court records.
On May 19, staff at the city's Red Mountain Branch told police they learned a woman was trying to sell public library books at Half Price Books, a used bookstore, near Superstition Springs Boulevard and Southern Avenue.
Staff from the bookstore reached out to the library after Ian Bartlett, 36, and Athena Bartlett, 33, came to the store to sell 19 books with Mesa Public Library labels and barcodes, according to court records.
Bookstore staff told the couple they could not complete the sale after noticing the public library labels. The pair then made
their way out, leaving the books on the counter, the court records said.\
A Mesa library staffer went to the store to retrieve the books, which were determined to be checked out to Ian Bartlett, according to court records.
Investigators learned of other attempts to sell books. Half Price Books shared five transaction receipts that showed Athena Bartlett had sold 423 books between May 7 and May 14, court records said.
Library staff found two library accounts under Ian, one of which had been blocked because $1,565 worth of books were never returned. The second account was created on April 2 and had 66 books outstanding, 19 of which were returned by Half Price Books. Those were checked out by Ian and were not yet due, according to court records. Athena also had an account and had numerous books checked out, court records said.
Between their accounts, Mesa library officials said about $6,287 in books were outstanding, court records said.
The two returned to the library on Aug. 7, according to library staff, who said they saw Athena on camera taking books without checking them out and leaving with Ian. They came back again on Aug. 10, and library staff called police, who arrested the couple.
Det. Laura Cervantes, a Mesa police spokesperson, said in an email that it took time for investigators to gather and verify information and establish circumstances regarding the case. When the two returned to the library in August, additional details police learned helped move the case forward, she said.
In a post-arrest interview, the couple told police they went to various libraries because they were homeless and would knowingly check out books and sell them to Half Price Books for money, according to court records. They said they would use their library accounts to check out the books, and Athena would handle the sales, court records said.
Both were booked on suspicion of trafficking in stolen property and theft.
Investigators believe numerous public library books still have not been recovered, according to Det. Jose Aguirre, another police spokesperson.
Those who think they may have unknowingly purchased or have a Mesa Public Library book that could be connected to the investigation were asked to contact the Police Department, Aguirre said.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Homeless couple accused of selling stolen library books in Mesa
