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2 Charged With Stealing Prized Elk Antlers From NRA Convention

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A pair of hunting enthusiasts at this weekend's NRA Convention allegedly helped themselves to two sets of prized Elk antlers waiting to be loaded onto a vendors truck at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Hunter Matt Kelly, who was also there, is shocked to hear the two thought they could get away with the crime.

"I think that's ridiculous that anyone would even try that around a group of guys that have guns everywhere," he said.

Police say Gary Felts, 49, and Stephen Lee, 44, who both work for Brede Exposition Services out of Maryland, boldly thought they could simply walk unnoticed down the sidewalk toward Penn Avenue with one set of antlers with a score of 522 inches and the second set with a score of 486 inches.

The owner, 56-year-old elk hunter Mike Ferguson of Idaho appraised the one set of antlers at $500,000. It's not something that hunter Aaron Ziccardi says you see around here – let alone being carried down the street in the middle of the city.

"I'd be pretty amazed see a set of antlers that wide that's a very big set of antlers," he said. "You don't see that everyday in downtown Pittsburgh."

Felts and Lee were taken to the Allegheny County Jail and charged with one count each of theft by unlawful taking or disposition and criminal conspiracy.

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