APEX - Prosecutors have dropped theft charges against an Angier artist accused of stealing his own artwork from a shuttered restaurant in Apex.

Keith Adams, 44, showed up for a hearing on the charges at the Wake County Courthouse on Wednesday, only to be told by Assistant District Attorney Jeff Cruden that the case was being dismissed. Adams, 44, said he was not surprised.

"I felt like I'd never done anything wrong to begin with," he said. "I was surprised when I was arrested and charged."

Adams, a former Cary police officer, was jailed and charged with breaking and entering and larceny Jan. 31 after he entered the Bistro 155 restaurant to reclaim 26 of his paintings hanging on the walls. He says his vivid, abstract artwork was inspired by his recent battle with bone cancer.

After Bistro 155 closed last month, Adams became concerned that someone would enter the building and steal his work, valued at more than $5,000. The building owner's lawyer advised him to wait until they could inventory the building's contents, but Adams decided to take matters into his own hands.

He told Apex police he had taken the paintings so they wouldn't think they had been stolen. Police then arrested him.

Although the charges against Adams were dismissed, a felony charge will still appear on Adam's record, unless, through a separate lawsuit, he works to have it expunged or made inaccessible in state or federal records.

"The stigma of having a felony record is still something Keith should not have to deal with, even though his case was dismissed," said Tony Buzzard, Adams' attorney.

The head of the Apex Arts Council contacted Adams since his arrest and asked him to exhibit his art in a show this spring. Adams says the date of the show has not been set, but the show will be called "Art Worth Stealing."