The following two stories were published in Salem Patch in February, 2013 following the city’s annual ice sculpture festival.
2 Men Arrested for Stealing Dragon Ice Sculpture Head
The Salem Police Department arrested two local men early Sunday morning after they allegedly stole the head of the ice sculpture dragon on the Pedestrian Mall and disobeyed an officer who told them to put it back.
W. B. Hare, 47, and R. J. Srivastava, 30, both of Salem, were charged with larceny of property over $250 and receiving stolen property over $250. Hare was also charged with disorderly conduct, illegal possession of a class B substance and two counts of illegal possession of a class E substance.
At 12:47 a.m. Sunday, Officer O’Leary reported the dragon head from the ice sculpture on the pedestrian mall was missing even though she had seen it attached just 27 minutes prior.
O’Leary then discovered the viking horns of the Salem State ice sculpture were missing at 12:49 a.m.
Just five minutes later, the officer saw Hare and Srivastava on the Pedestrian Mall carrying a large chunk of ice.
As the men walked toward the officer, the man carrying the ice tried to hide behind the other man, police said. Hare told O’Leary they were walking home. When she told the men to stop, the officer saw the head of the dragon in Srivastava’s possession.
When asked why he had the head, police said Srivastava “stated he was taking it home as a souvenir.”
Hare told Srivastava to keep walking again, and the officer told him to “put the head on the sculpture; the head did not belong to him.” Police said the officer again told Srivastava to put the head back, adding that the sculptures cost the businesses a lot of money.
Police said Srivastava “put the head down next to the body of the dragon.”
During the encounter O’Leary reported that Hare “was rude, loud and very disrespectful.”
Fifteen minutes later, police said the same officer was dispatched to Howard Street on a report two suspicious men were carrying a large chunk of ice. The officer saw the same men from the mall walking on Washington SquareNorth before turning down Oliver Street.
O’Leary stopped the men and Srivastava was carrying the head of the dragon once again.
“He was immediately hostile and started yelling at me that I couldn’t stop him,” the officer reported. “Hare was yelling that they were taking the head home and was trying to get Srivastava to continue walking.”
The officer told the men to stop again and Hare started yelling in the officer’s face, saying “he was a doctor and could do what he wanted,” police said.
Other units were concerned for the officer’s well-being and responded because they could hear yelling in the background on the radio.
Police asked Srivastava why he took the sculpture head again, and he said he went back and got it “because he wanted it,” police said.
The men were arrested and the head of the sculpture was placed into evidence. Police found a small plastic baggie with pills on Hare.
What Happened to the Decapitated Dragon Head?
The dragon head from the Salem’s So Sweet ice sculpture that was decapitated earlier this month has melted due to an electrical malfunction.
Two Salem men were arrested after stealing the head Feb. 12 and disobeying an officer who told them to put it back. Salem Patch received multiple inquiries about the whereabouts of the head, which police said they retrieved as evidence after the incident.
It turns out that head was in a freezer and was presumably in tact until sometime before yesterday.
At 8:48 a.m. Tuesday, an officer entered the evidence room at the Salem Police Department at 95 Margin St. to check what was left over from weekend activity, police said.
When the officer checked the refrigerator, police said she noticed the light was out. Then, she checked the freezer.
“The refrigerator must have stopped working sometime over the weekend because the ice sculpture head that was in the freezer was 75 percent melted,” police said
Police said maintenance was called, and it was “determined that the plug must be bad.” The city electrician was notified, and the fridge was plugged into another outlet.