DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) – A jury has ruled that 20 antique firearms that have been the subject of a three-decade legal battle do not belong to a notorious Massachusetts art thief as he claimed, and his lawyer says his client’s autobiography may have played a role in the verdict.

Myles J Connor, Jr took the stand at the trial that ended this week and said he inherited the guns from family.

Prosecutors said Connor could not establish ownership, referring to his autobiography The Art of the Heist, in which he chronicles thefts he was involved with.

Michael Farrington, Connor’s attorney, told The Boston Globe in light of the prosecution’s tactics, the jury was “not hospitable.”

The guns were seized during a law enforcement raid on a Boston apartment in 1985.

The weapons remain in legal limbo.

________

Copyright 2018 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This information may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.