Nine stolen vintage guitars found in Santa Cruz during theft investigation
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) Santa Cruz police are searching for the owners of 9 stolen vintage guitars worth about $225,000 in total after they were found during an investigation into a theft case.
Santa Cruz police were first contacted by Los Angeles police about a case in which about $2 million worth of stolen musical equipment and other items were stolen from a storage unit in Marina Del Rey. They learned of the burglary in July 2020, and in August 2020, LAPD, Lompoc police, Redondo Beach police and Hawthorn police arrested several people in connection to the case.
During the investigation, they learned that some of the stolen items were being sold in Santa Cruz through Reverb.com, which police say is a legitimate site. When LAPD contacted Santa Cruz police, detectives began investigating and gathering information.
On Tuesday, Santa Cruz police said detectives served search warrants at three locations in the city with the help of the Neighborhood Policing Team and the Anti-Crime Team. They searched two homes and one warehouse, and during the search, they said they found 9 vintage stolen guitars worth between $5,000 and $50,000 each.
These are the makes and models of the guitars they found:
- 1958 Gretsch Country Club
- 1957 Gretsch Country Club
- 1960 Gretsch Chet Atkins
- 1959 Rickenbacker Capri
- Rickenbacker 12 string
- Rickenbacker 12 string
- Gibson Chet Atkins Classical Electric
- Fender Stratocaster limited release
- Hofner 500 Bass
Police have not made any arrests at this point, and they said it is still unclear how the people associated with the searches got the stolen items.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Trevor Kendall at 831-420-5963. To remain anonymous, call the tip line at 831-420-5995.
