NEW YORK (WCBS 880/AP) — One man was arrested Friday for stealing a ceremonial sword and bullhorn from the office of St. John's University Coach Rick Pitino earlier this week, but a second suspect has yet to be apprehended.
Emanuel Yakubov, 25, of Queens, is charged with third-degree burglary, petit larceny, third-degree criminal trespass and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, police announced Friday night.
Brian Browne, a spokesperson for St. John's University, a Catholic institution in Queens, said Thursday that the theft happened shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday night at the athletics department offices, which are located in the floors above the hardwood at Carnesecca Arena, where Pitino's Red Storm play.
Once inside the building, the suspects removed various items and fled on a moped traveling westbound on Union Turnpike with the stolen items, police said.
The NYPD released surveillance footage Thursday showing the two walking down a hallway in the building, with one carrying the stolen sword and the other holding the bullhorn.
Yakubov's accomplice, featured in the surveillance footage, has not been caught.
"St. John's University is grateful for the rapid response made by the NYPD and the recovery of stolen property. The safety and security of our campus community are essential, and our cooperative relationship with law enforcement helps ensure that," Browne reportedly said in a statement following the arrest.
Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Pitino was hired by St. John's last year with the hopes of restoring a once storied Big East program that had its heyday in the 1980s but has been mired in mediocrity for more than two decades.
Pitino posted on X Thursday: "Really upset! Taking my memorabilia is one thing but the 1985 6L Petrus Pomerol has me livid!!!"
However, he later posted that he was joking.
Pitino quoted his original post, and wrote: "The 1985 Petrus was a joke🤣🤣I would never keep that on my desk! Saving that one in a wine cellar to open after the Johnnies go to the final four!"
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.