Police Department

Stolen Guitars

Sgt. Terry Preuninger, PIO

Friday, May 8, 2020 at 4:53 p.m.

Suspect arrested for stealing and pawning multiple guitars during the month of December 2019.

On the morning of May 6^th, 2020 Terry Smith (64) had been booked into the Spokane County Jail for having pawned a stolen guitar.  The original case report had five different guitars listed as stolen from a local store.

SPD Officers went to the jail to attempt to interview Smith in reference to this case.  Smith agreed and stated the following:

He went to a store and was looking around. He selected a guitar from a display with the intent to steal it. He carried the guitar unconcealed out of the store without attempting to purchase it. Nobody at the store attempted to stop him. He took the guitar to a pawn shop and pawned it. He didn’t have any intention to go back and pay back the loan he got on the guitar.

He went back three more times in December and stole three more guitars. Each time he stole the guitar, he took it to a pawn shop and pawned it, again with no intention of going back and paying back the loan.

SPD ran a pawn history report for Smith and found that he had indeed pawned several guitars around the times of the thefts.  Several of the guitars were still in local pawn shop inventories and were recovered by SPD.

Based on the investigation there is probable cause to charge Smith with 2nd degree theft and three counts of 1^st degree trafficking in stolen property.

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