Korea RPCV Kyle Kopitke arrested for allegedly going into the Korean War Museum in Oxford, allegedly planning to take some things from the building



Kopitke operates war museums in Nelson and Edgar, Nebraska , but he has a track record for closing the doors on his attractions. According to the Desert News in Salt Lake City, Kopitke abandoned a site in Utah in 1999. A museum he started in Hawaii also closed its doors a couple years ago. Then, just last September, the Korean War Museum in Oxford closed for good

Korea RPCV Kyle Kopitke arrested for allegedly going into the Korean War Museum in Oxford, allegedly planning to take some things from the building

Museum Director Arrested
Monday, 6/12/06, 10 PM
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A museum curator is put behind bars for trespassing at his own former museum. Kyle Kopitke was arrested early Saturday morning for allegedly going into the Korean War Museum in Oxford , allegedly planning to take some things from the building.

Kay Brown was on her early morning paper route when she saw something out of the ordinary.

"I happened to notice a vehicle pull into a vacant building that we've always known as the nursing home, and it used to be an old war museum," said Brown.

The van in the driveway belonged to the curator of the former Korean War Museum, Kyle Kopitke.

"When I got there, there was a vehicle parked out front, the doors were open," said Deputy Lee Lozo of the Furnas County Sheriff's Department.

He arrested Kopitke after finding him inside the museum building. The curator told the deputy that he planned on taking some personal items and that he was working on an agreement with the owners.

The museum closed last September for the winter, but never reopened. Since then, the owners of the building terminated the lease agreement with Kopitke.

"They said that they have no more dealings with him, they no longer wish to have dealings with him and that part of their business venture is over," said Lozo.

Kopitke pleaded not guilty to criminal trespassing in Furnas County Court. He's scheduled to appear again at the end of the month. A $25,000 bond was reduced to $10,000 because Kopitke had no past criminal record.

Kopitke operates war museums in Nelson and Edgar, Nebraska , but he has a track record for closing the doors on his attractions. According to the Desert News in Salt Lake City, Kopitke abandoned a site in Utah in 1999. A museum he started in Hawaii also closed its doors a couple years ago. Then, just last September, the Korean War Museum in Oxford closed for good.

Story Created: Jun 12, 2006 at 8:33 PM CST

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