After becoming the first Hmong American to win Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games, Suni Lee became a source of pride for the Hmong community in St. Paul. To honor her achievement, a bronze bust of the Olympic champion was unveiled in 2023. But just two years later, the nearly 50-pound statue was stolen from the park in July 2025. More than a year later, the case took an unexpected turn, with a mother and son now facing felony charges for receiving stolen property.

St. Paul police department responded to a residence in the 900 block of Forest Street after reports of gunfire. Officers arriving at the multi-unit building found spent shell casings outside, including three casings on a staircase that were fitted to various guns or calibers, as reported by MPR News. What police found inside the building, however, would lead them to the missing statue.

Police then surrounded the building and ordered everyone inside the upstairs apartment to come out. Eight people eventually exited the unit, with no injuries reported. Officers then conducted a protective sweep of the apartment to check for anyone who might still be inside. That was when they came across something far more unusual than what had brought them to the property in the first place: the bronze bust of Suni Lee, missing from Phalen Regional Park for more than a year.

The nearly 50-pound sculpture was sitting at the foot of a bedroom closet, surrounded by men’s clothing, according to reports. Police later secured a search warrant and conducted a full search of the residence, confirming that the bust was intact. 

“Never in a million years would you think something like that was still intact,” said Ryan Murphy, a senior commander with the St. Paul Police Department, on WCCO-TV during a press briefing 

The bust was valued at around $6,700, based on the artist’s valuation cited in reports. Its recovery finally gave investigators a major break in a case that had gone unresolved since the sculpture disappeared from Phalen Regional Park in July 2025.

The first arrest came shortly after the discovery. Twenty-two-year-old Dashawn Tyree Caradine was taken to the Ramsey County Jail and accused of felony receiving stolen property. According to the criminal complaint, Caradine told investigators that he knew the bust was inside the apartment and said it had been there for about a month.

Investigators also identified Caradine’s mother, 44-year-old Tamica Nicole Bazinet, as a resident of the apartment. Bazinet was not there when police first arrived, as court documents say she had left to watch her two-month-old grandson. She returned while officers were still at the property. Both Bazinet and Caradine are facing one felony count each of receiving stolen property. Neither has been publicly charged in connection with the original theft of the statue. 

Interestingly, the recovery of Suni Lee’s stolen statue comes just as the Olympic champion is embarking on another chapter of her career. After stepping away from gymnastics following the Paris Olympics, Lee is back in the gym.

Suni Lee’s sights set on the 2028 Olympics

Suni Lee gave fans a clear sign that she was ready to return. He shared a training video with the caption, “I’m back.” The announcement came two years before the Los Angeles Games, putting a potential third Olympic appearance firmly on the horizon for the 23-year-old gymnast.

Lee’s return carries added significance given what happened after her Olympic triumph in Tokyo. In 2023, she was diagnosed with two kidney diseases, forcing her to step away from gymnastics. She fought her way back in time for Paris 2024, where she helped Team USA win gold in the team event and added bronze medals in the individual all-around and uneven bars. Now, after sitting out competition following the Paris Games, Lee is once again training with another Olympic opportunity in sight.

She returned to training in July 2026. A place on the U.S. team would also give her the opportunity to compete at a home Olympics in Los Angeles.

She has already offered a glimpse of what that comeback could look like. Shortly after announcing her return, her training footage showed her working on an acrobatic series she had performed during the Paris Olympics, suggesting that she is already rebuilding some of the skills that made her a key part of the U.S. team.

Lee has returned to the coaches who helped shape her into an Olympic champion. Jess Graba and Ali Lim have coached her since she was six, and Lee chose to return to the same Minnesota gym as she begins the long road toward Los Angeles. The discovery of the statue, coming just as Lee begins her return to gymnastics, feels like a fitting celebration of the Olympic champion’s next chapter.