UPDATE: Wanted Lexington Lawyer Back in Court

John Scott Benton is accused of having two stolen statues worth thousands of dollars.

According to police, Benton had been on the run since October 2013 when he did not show up for a hearing.

In court Wednesday, the judge appointed Benton a public defender after Benton said via video conference that he could not afford a lawyer. 

Bail was kept at $5,000.

Police accuse Benton of having two statues stolen from an art gallery in Versailles.
 
Detectives in Lexington said a tip led them to Benton’s home on Price Road.  When they arrived, they found Benton trying to leave through a window with one of the bronze statues. 
 
Detectives said they also found another statue in the home.
 
According to police, the statues are from the Heike-Pickett Art Gallery and worth an estimated $25,000 each.
 
U.S. Marshals said Benton had been hiding in Utah since he skipped his court hearing in 2013.
 
Marshals said they were working with Utah law enforcement and believe as they were getting closer in the investigation, that Benton got ‘spooked’ he would be caught.
 
Marshals believe Benton returned to Kentucky in early November.
 
He was arrested at a home in Salvisa on Wednesday.  Marshals said the home he was at belonged to a friend.
 
Despite returning to Kentucky, Marshals said they do not believe Benton had any intentions of turning himself in.
 
According to the Kentucky Bar Association’s website, Benton is suspended for disciplinary reasons.
 
ABC 36 has learned he was also arrested in 2011 after a fight in Lexington.
 
Benton is due back in court Monday, December 15.