Are you just happy to see me ...

[DeArmond Hammer]

... or is that a Gibson in your pants?

Ontario detectives are searching for a thief and a '59 Les Paul reissue.

Media Releases - York Regional Police

www.yrp.ca

There was a similar baggy-pants guitar theft a few years ago, but I can't find the story because I'm not Ralf.

 

[RBSinTo]

The "is that a guitar down your pants?" jokes are getting old very quickly.
This theft took place at Cosmo Music here in Toronto, a wonderful, full service store that I patronize and visit often, and I'm sure they're not laughing.
Nor should we. This kind of activity hurts all of us in one way or another. I hope they catch the thief and get the guitar back.
RBSinTo

 

[Guildedagain]

There was a legendary pawnshop here for decades, guitars and tools, cameras and knives, that was about it, but they were always more about guitars than anything else, lots of guitars, walls of guitars and amplifiers. I bought my 1st electric guitar there, a Sears Silvertone amp in case for $75.

This happened between visits, as I was told while trying some guitars out "You missed all the excitement" by one of the clerks maybe watching the guitars more closely than before ;]

Some dude came in, tried some guitars and amps, and when he found one he liked, he tried to run out the door with it.

Remember that study on pot they just did? It's ok if you don't ;]

This idjit forgot to unplug the guitar from the cord and when he headed for the door he toppled a wall of amplifiers, lolololol

I don't know exactly what happened after that but I do know he never made it out the door with the guitar, and that he was lucky the cops got there quickly before they strung him up with guitar cords. The pawnshop eventually closed, the owner becoming more irascible, died suddenly in his sleep one night although he looked quite well - not to self treat your wife well - no one could step in his shoes and take over the business and it closed.

At that point it was a full fledged music store with rentals with a full repair dept, the best in town actually, the tech there plays/built lutes and had the best Hickok mil grade tubes testers available, could fix anything from a Strad to a '53 Princeton, we became somewhat friends even went out for coffee, I miss those days, you'd walk in, and there was always something.

That was where I bought my 1st Guild, '70 D35 - they didn't actually know what year it was and I never did either - hanging next to $3000 guitars because it was as good at $600, a no brainer, an a looker to boot. Eventually I sold it and sent it to someone recording with Dave Davies in England.

There is my little 100W Carvin test amp on the floor ;]

 

[chazmo]

That really sucks. If that's actual CCTV footage, then I wonder what the point is? It's practically useless to help identify the criminal.

 

[richardp69]

In my book, thieves are right near the bottom of the scum pile.

 

[Guildedagain]

"Investigators learned that on Tuesday, December 20, 2021, an unknown male suspect entered the store and stole a guitar by hiding it down his pants. He fled from the area in a vehicle being driven by a second male suspect. The guitar stolen was a Gibson Custom Shop 60th Anniversary ’59 Les Paul Standard electric guitar, valued at approximately $8,000."

I don't know what's going on here, and there's that feeling that you're just being led down the garden path by the "media" but for me:

A) You can't put a guitar down your pants, period. Think about it, all of your guitars, all of your pants, it's just not happening.

B) Nobody lets you stuff an $8000 down your pants, I don't care how baggy they are.

C) So they walked out maybe even ran with a guitar in their pants?

For my money, this is some kind of inside job, an insurance racket, I don't know what but it's not happening in my mind palace.

PS If I was gonna do this, I'd sew an 80's Gibson "Protector" case into my pant leg, just to keep the guitar safe while running. Those indestructo cases only weigh like 20lbs, plus 10lb for the guitar, so it would be best to sew in 30lbs of sandbags into the other leg just to keep it balanced. And then practice, practice, go for some early morning runs with the Les Paul down your leg to get the feel of it ;]

 

[RBSinTo]

That really sucks. If that's actual CCTV footage, then I wonder what the point is? It's practically useless to help identify the criminal.

chazmo,
Covid protocols dictate that we must wear masks when entering stores, but there is no reason why we shouldn't remove them when passing the security cameras to provide a clear facial photo.
Otherwise, the hoodies, baseball caps and masks make identifying the thief virtually impossible.
RBSinTo

 

[RBSinTo]

"Investigators learned that on Tuesday, December 20, 2021, an unknown male suspect entered the store and stole a guitar by hiding it down his pants. He fled from the area in a vehicle being driven by a second male suspect. The guitar stolen was a Gibson Custom Shop 60th Anniversary ’59 Les Paul Standard electric guitar, valued at approximately $8,000."

I don't know what's going on here, and there's that feeling that you're just being led down the garden path by the "media" but for me:

A) You can't put a guitar down your pants, period. Think about it, all of your guitars, all of your pants, it's just not happening.

B) Nobody lets you stuff an $8000 down your pants, I don't care how baggy they are.

C) So they walked out maybe even ran with a guitar in their pants?

For my money, this is some kind of inside job, an insurance racket, I don't know what but it's not happening in my mind palace.

Guildedagain,
Appreciate you Sherlocking the case so quickly and definitively based on so little information, and a "feeling".
As to the actual m.o., and the facts of the case, first we'll see, and then we'll know.
RBSinTo

 

[chazmo]

Understood, but the resolution on the video was useless. Did I just not see it, right? Of course, with hoodies, masks, etc., it would be difficult to ID someone.

Not sure I'd expect people to go removing their masks for the purposes of being watched by cameras. My bank, when it was open, required you to remove hats, sunglasses, etc., when entering. That's moot at this point because they're mostly shut down anyway.

 

[RBSinTo]

Understood, but the resolution on the video was useless. Did I just not see it, right? Of course, with hoodies, masks, etc., it would be difficult to ID someone.

Not sure I'd expect people to go removing their masks for the purposes of being watched by cameras. My bank, when it was open, required you to remove hats, sunglasses, etc., when entering. That's moot at this point because they're mostly shut down anyway.

chazmo,
The merchant having a clear photo of everyone entering the store poses no threat to me, so if it became part of Cosmo's security policy, I wouldn't mind it in the least, especially if it means I can continue to browse the store and noodle on the high-end Acoustics as I do every time I visit.
RBSinTo