Good news: Authorities have returned a World War I-era cannon back to its home in Richmond, Calif., after it was stolen in a daring theft.

As we reported recently, at least two thieves stole the cannon May 1 from Veterans Memorial Hall in the city, where it had been displayed for the past 70 years. Surveillance footage captured two men using bolt cutters to free the cannon,a nd then loading the massive brass and iron cannon, which weighs about a ton, onto a pickup truck.

Apparently, somebody bought the cannon for $1,200, not realizing it was stolen. When he saw the reports about the theft, he immediately called the Richmond Police Department, telling them the cannon was in his front yard. That man hasn’t been identified.

Authorities are still investigating the crime, and no suspects have been identified yet.

The cannon had been on display at the veteran’s hall since 1947.

The Richmond Police Department posted the following thank-you note on its Facebook page on May 12:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE
Yesterday, we asked for your help in locating a WW I era cannon that was stolen from the Richmond Veterans Memorial Hall on 23rd St. NBC Bay Area’s Jodi Hernandez helped us and pushed the story out on mainstream media. We told the story via our department Facebook, Nextdoor, Instagram and Twitter.
Today (5/12/16), we received several tips regarding the stolen cannon. We also received a phone call from a gentleman who saw the story air on NBC; he realized the cannon he bought a few days ago for $1,200 was the cannon that was stolen from the Veterans Hall. This gentleman was more than helpful and felt absolutely horrible he had inadvertently bought a stolen piece of American history.
RPD Property Crimes Detective T. Kaiser, Detective Sergeant E. Russell and Detective P. Martin went out to the City of Martinez and recovered the cannon. The cannon was brought back to the same location it had stood guard for almost 70 years and returned to the rightful owners – the brave men and women who fought for our country and our freedom – our military veterans.
The detectives are working hard on leads to solve this case.
We want to thank NBC Bay Area, our community residents, residents in the Bay Area and the gentleman who did the right thing and called us. You are all amazing people and we appreciate all your help. This is a great example of community policing – community, media and police working in harmony