Dallas police arrest fugitive

A Newport Beach artist accused of using a Picasso sketch he didn’t own as collateral for a loan was arrested Friday in Texas, according to authorities.

Michael Jon Schofield, 60, was arrested by Dallas police on a tip, according to Orange County prosecutors. He has been charged with two felony counts of grand theft and one felony count of passing a check without sufficient funds to pay for it, and will face a hearing on extradition from Texas.

Schofield is accused of meeting an unnamed Newport Beach resident and agreeing to find a buyer for a $200,000 original sketch by renowned artist Pablo Picasso. Under their deal, Schofield would receive a 5% commission, authorities said.

Police said he then met Newport Beach real estate broker Jeffrey Stokes in May, pretending to be the owner of the sketch. Schofield told Stokes he was launching a new cable television program on art sales and convinced him to take the Picasso as security for a $40,000 loan, prosecutors said.

Then in August, Schofield stole the Picasso back from Stokes while helping him to move his art collection to a new house, authorities said. In December he passed Stokes a check for $5,000 to start repaying the loan, but it bounced, according to prosecutors.

Newport Beach police issued a $50,000 arrest warrant for Schofield, but could not find him at his Balboa Island apartment, which he had abandoned, they said. He then turned up in Dallas, where he was arrested, authorities said.

Schofield is also accused of meeting another man and accepting $1,850 on the pretense he had already paid for repairs of a valuable art piece.

Authorities say he dropped off the painting to be repaired but had not paid ahead for the work.

If convicted of all charges, Schofield faces a maximum of four years and four months in prison.

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at michael .alexander@latimes.com.