Local man robbed of charity Star Wars costumes

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Credit: 501st Legion/Facebook

Two Star Wars-inspired costumes used to entertain patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta were stolen from a vehicle parked in the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta early Saturday morning.

Bobby Shively, who heads up the Atlanta chapter of 501st Legion, an organization that builds movie-accurate Star Wars costumes for charity purposes, said he and another volunteer had just left from eating at the Taco Mac restaurant around 1 a.m. when he noticed his car had been burglarized.

"I saw the door slightly open," Shively said. "Which was odd because the truck was locked."

Among the items stolen were a Darth Vader costume, a Legacy Stormtrooper costume along with two replica blasters.

"The costumes were inside two 50-60 gallon containers with a huge prop on top of them," he said.

Shively said he was parked in front of the restaurant on North Highland Avenue.

Police took fingerprints from his vehicle and are reviewing surveillance video from businesses in the area.

Shively says the costumes were hand-made and worth thousands of dollars.

"The Darth Vadar costume cost about $5,000 and took nine months to make...because all of the parts come from all over the world," he said.

The costumes were used as part of several local charitable causes, including CHOA's Christmas and St. Patrick's Day parades.

Anyone with information is urged to call police at 911 or contact the 501st Legion organization via email at co@ga501st.com.