On a cold and moonless night in Santa Fe, someone stole Gianna Marino’s family of penguins.
Not a family of live penguins – but to Gianna, these penguins were just as precious.
The purloined penguins were original illustrations from her children’s book, Waiting for Mama.
Gianna feared that her illustrations – twenty exquisite hand-painted artworks, the culmination of many months of work – were gone forever.
Gianna, a fine artist and New York Times bestselling children’s book author and illustrator, was born in San Francisco and grew up riding horses in Golden Gate Park. http://www.giannamarino.com
An avid adventurer, Gianna spent much of her life traveling through Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the South Pacific.
After Gianna became well known for her series of acclaimed children’s books, she relocated to Santa Fe while building a home in the countryside.
The picturesque city, home to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, is famous for its thriving arts scene.
Gianna rented a house in southside Santa Fe, on a street that was quiet and seemingly safe.
Meanwhile, Gianna had completed her latest children’s book, Waiting for Mama, about a baby penguin who waits in the frigid Antarctic winter for its mother to return with food.
After Gianna’s publisher, Viking Books, sent back her original penguin paintings, she tucked them into the hatchback of her Subaru Crosstrek.
But on the morning of April 3, 2022, Gianna awoke to find that someone had rifled through her car. The penguins were gone, along with a set of tools.
“I’m a city kid,” she told me later. “The one time in my life that I didn’t lock my car.”
Gianna reported the theft to the Santa Fe Police Department, explaining that the illustrations had a market value of $30,000.
But she didn’t hold out hope. “I thought I’d never see them again,” she said.
Because Gianna was well known, the case of the purloined penguins became big news in Santa Fe. After the Associated Press picked up on the story, news of the case went nationwide.
The police decided to stage a sting operation. Word circulated about a “no questions asked” reward of $1,000.
For a while, nothing happened. Then a text message came in from a suspect who claimed to be holding the purloined penguins.
When asked to provide “proof of life,” the suspect sent images of the drawings.
The police, posing as Gianna, arranged a meetup with the suspect in Fort Marcy Park. The suspect said he’d be riding a green bike and would trade the artwork for the $1,000 reward.
When the suspect pedaled into the park, along with an accomplice on foot, the police nabbed them – but not without a chase.
One of the officers suffered injury as he caught up to the bike and dragged the suspect to the ground.
Much to Gianna’s delight, the police recovered 19 of the 20 stolen artworks. “They were perfectly intact,” she told me.
Ian Marlin, the alleged masterminded, was charged with extortion, resisting arrest, receiving stolen property, and conspiracy.
Because Marlin had meth and fentanyl on him, he was also charged with drug possession. Turned out that the green bike he was riding had been stolen.
Marlin had a long list of prior arrests, including for burglary, larceny, and auto theft. His accomplice, 39-year-old Scott Chambers, also faced felony charges in connection with the stolen artwork.
According to criminal case records (Case D-101-CR-202300157), in May 2024, as part of a plea bargain, Marlin pleaded guilty to extortion.
