Michael R
May 16th, 2003, 09:52 AM
Some people will try anything !!! 8) !!!
Rare Gibson Guitar `Walked' Out Of Music Store
May 16, 2003
By KEN BYRON, Courant Staff Writer
BRISTOL -- To employees at a music store in Southington, Paul Krawitz appeared to be a man with a bad leg and an interest in electric guitars. But police say Krawitz's leg is just fine.
According to court documents, Krawitz was walking with difficulty when he left The Music Store on Queen Street in Southington in October because a guitar was stuffed in his pants, with the neck down a pants leg.
Krawitz, of Waterbury, suspected of stealing a dozen guitars from the store, pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing a rare Gibson guitar from the store last spring. He also pleaded guilty to trying the same stunt at a store in Orange in January. He did not leave with anything from that store, but staff suspected he tried to stick a guitar in his pants, according to court documents.
Krawitz, 36, will be sentenced in Bristol Superior Court July 15.
Police tracked the Gibson to Krawitz after the store's owner saw it listed for sale in an on-line classified advertising service.
Although no one saw Krawitz steal the Gibson, police said in an arrest affidavit, a surveillance camera tape suggests how he got the instrument out of the store.
The store's cameras were turned off when the Gibson was stolen. But police say the cameras were rolling when Krawitz visited the store Oct. 7 and limped out of the store, allegedly with another guitar stuffed in his pants.
According to the affidavit, the tape showed Krawitz pulling a guitar off a display rack and taking it to a part of the store that was out of the camera's eye. The next time Krawitz was seen on camera he was walking out of the store with a stiff left leg and limping. The tape showed him walking normally when he came into the store, the affidavit states.
Scott Mulrooney, who runs The Music Store with his father, said Thursday that he is still amazed at what Krawitz did.
Southington police gave this account of their investigation.
Store staff noticed the Gibson guitar was missing in May or June and in October, storeowner Robert Mulrooney noticed a guitar matching the description of the missing one listed for sale in an on-line classified advertising site. Police and detectives found the man who was selling that guitar and he helped police track the guitar back to a pawnshop in Waterbury.
Police said they got a copy of the Pennsylvania driver's license Krawitz presented to pawnshop staff and went back to Mulrooney's store to view tapes from the surveillance camera to identify Krawitz.
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Rare Gibson Guitar `Walked' Out Of Music Store
May 16, 2003
By KEN BYRON, Courant Staff Writer
BRISTOL -- To employees at a music store in Southington, Paul Krawitz appeared to be a man with a bad leg and an interest in electric guitars. But police say Krawitz's leg is just fine.
According to court documents, Krawitz was walking with difficulty when he left The Music Store on Queen Street in Southington in October because a guitar was stuffed in his pants, with the neck down a pants leg.
Krawitz, of Waterbury, suspected of stealing a dozen guitars from the store, pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing a rare Gibson guitar from the store last spring. He also pleaded guilty to trying the same stunt at a store in Orange in January. He did not leave with anything from that store, but staff suspected he tried to stick a guitar in his pants, according to court documents.
Krawitz, 36, will be sentenced in Bristol Superior Court July 15.
Police tracked the Gibson to Krawitz after the store's owner saw it listed for sale in an on-line classified advertising service.
Although no one saw Krawitz steal the Gibson, police said in an arrest affidavit, a surveillance camera tape suggests how he got the instrument out of the store.
The store's cameras were turned off when the Gibson was stolen. But police say the cameras were rolling when Krawitz visited the store Oct. 7 and limped out of the store, allegedly with another guitar stuffed in his pants.
According to the affidavit, the tape showed Krawitz pulling a guitar off a display rack and taking it to a part of the store that was out of the camera's eye. The next time Krawitz was seen on camera he was walking out of the store with a stiff left leg and limping. The tape showed him walking normally when he came into the store, the affidavit states.
Scott Mulrooney, who runs The Music Store with his father, said Thursday that he is still amazed at what Krawitz did.
Southington police gave this account of their investigation.
Store staff noticed the Gibson guitar was missing in May or June and in October, storeowner Robert Mulrooney noticed a guitar matching the description of the missing one listed for sale in an on-line classified advertising site. Police and detectives found the man who was selling that guitar and he helped police track the guitar back to a pawnshop in Waterbury.
Police said they got a copy of the Pennsylvania driver's license Krawitz presented to pawnshop staff and went back to Mulrooney's store to view tapes from the surveillance camera to identify Krawitz.
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