BEL AIR, Md. — Four suspects, a male and three females, believed to be Romani, browsing in the acoustic room at Music Land in Bel Air, but once an employee steps out for a moment, they spring into action with one of them stepping up on a stool to remove a high-priced guitar from the wall.
“One of the female suspects was on lookout,” said Store Owner Larry Noto after viewing the security footage, “The other two suspects took the guitar. She had a long black winter coat on, very puffy coat. It was freezing out. You know how it was a couple of weeks ago and had sort of a black bag that they slipped the guitar in.”
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From the time they first grabbed the instrument until they headed out of the store with it concealed inside a coat---just under a minute, and it’s no mistake they targeted the martin D-28 acoustic guitar.
Thieves steal guitar worth $15K at Music Land in Bel Air
Martin is one of the premier acoustic guitar companies dating back to the 1830s and drawing the favor of such legends as Hank Williams, Elvis and Johnny Cash.
“This was a consignment piece from 1947 so a very rare, special piece that we just happened to have on sale as part of our consignment program,” added Noto.
It’s value---approximately 15 thousand dollars.
The theft comes on the heels of similar heists throughout Maryland and nearby New Jersey by the same suspects or others believed to also be of Romani descent who have seemingly perfected their art of deception.
“You know you trust people, and they came and they even said, ‘Oh, you have such a nice store,’ and we just thought these were nice people looking for guitars,” recalled Noto, “and you do feel violated and it was really sad and disturbing to watch the video that had happened.We’re a local family-owned business, served the community for 55 years.You just don’t think something like that’s going to happen to you.”
If you have any information on the suspects, you can call police at 410-638-4500.
