2 Gibson Historic Les Pauls stolen - Bellingham Wa.

[CRAMER]

RECOVERED! 2 Gibson Historic Les Pauls stolen - Bellingham Wa.

RECOVERED! Read my follow up post below, please. Thank you!

Hello,
My home in Bellingham, Washington was broken into the night of Friday November 23rd and 2 of my Gibson Les Paul guitars were taken. Here are the details:

Gibson Les Paul '54 Chambered Reissue "Cloud 9" in Iced Tea burst finish. Serial # CR44008. This was in a black Gibson hardshell case.

Gibson Les Paul '57 Reissue Les Paul Junior, cherry red finish. Serial # 741752. This was also in a black Gibson hardshell case.

Please keep an eye out and if you see or hear anything contact the Bellingham Police at (360) 676-6913, then contact me at (509)-430-9002.

These guitars have a lot of sentimental value and I've worked very hard to get them. I am willing to provide a $ reward for the return of these guitars.

Thank you. Here are pictures:

 

[CRAMER]

Hello to the Les Paul Forum community.

Today, March 23 2012, I recovered the second of two Gibson Les Pauls that were stolen from me in November 2007. I wanted to share my story because from my view it is quite unbelievable.

As stated in my original post above from 2007, my home in Bellingham, WA was burglarized and my two Gibson Les Paul guitars were stolen. Immediately after the burglary I posted on various online forums, including www.lespaulforum.com, alerting readers about the theft and requesting help keeping an eye out for the guitars. Thankfully I had good pictures of the guitars and serial numbers, that I included in all my posts. I figured my effort was futile, but thought there was not harm in putting the word out. Additionally I called and emailed stores throughout the Pacific Northwest providing pictures, descriptions, and serial numbers of the guitars. One of these stores was Emerald City Guitars in downtown Seattle, WA.

Within one week of the burglary two men entered Emerald City Guitars wanting to sell a '54 Chambered Reissue in Iced Tea Sunburst. :ganz The fine employees at Emerald City were clever enough to 1) recognize the guitar from memory, 2) tell the guys they needed to look up the value on the computer, when they are actually going back to the email I sent to confirm the guitar is stolen, and 3) call the cops and continue to stall the guys, without spooking them, long enough for the cops to show up. (The police station was three blocks away). Thanks to the clever work of Emerald City, the cops show up quickly and bust the fools trying to sell my '54 Chambered Reissue. Later that day I got a call from an officer at SPD telling me they recovered my guitar and had it at the station waiting for me. Unfortunately, they were unable to determine what happened to the '57 Les Paul Junior. I assumed the burglars were able to sell it earlier or dumped it somehow. As the years have passed, I've been curious about the guitar, but let go of the idea of getting it back.

Fast forward four and one half years to March 2012. Late on a Sunday evening I receive a call from an unknown number with an unfamiliar area code. I answer and a friendly guy on the other end asks if I'm the guy who had two guitars stolen from me in Washington state. I say "Yes, one was a '54 Chambered Reissue which was recovered, and the other was a cherry red '57 Les Paul Junior". He says "I have your Les Paul Junior". I was shocked. He said he bought the guitar from a guy in Washington state, has had for about one year, and recently decided to sell it to get something else. When he posted it on ebay and craigslist he soon after received messages from viewers of his ads alerting him to this very post on www.lespaulforum.com, informing him his guitar was stolen. Shortly after receiving the messages and verifying the guitar was a match he took the postings down and contacted me. This guy is one of the most honest and good people for contacting me. :salude

I contacted the Arlington, VA Police Department to request assistance recovering the guitar. After getting the run around for a while, I got a call from an extremely helpful detective that took my information, verified the information, and recovered the guitar.

Today UPS arrived with the guitar and it is in excellent condition! I did immediately notice a few new scratches, dings, and some buckle rash, so I know it has been played and enjoyed. I am happy about that. This guitar now has a really interesting history and an amazing story.

In the end this ordeal has come full circle. The burglars got busted, I recovered my Les Pauls and the guy that returned the LP Junior is getting a refund for his loss and a reward (in addition to some serious karma credit). Everyone is happy and the greater will has won. I owe a very very very big thank you to the good and honest members of the online guitar community, the very gracious guy from Arlington, VA, the Arlington PD, and the Internet. Thank You.

Thanks for reading,
Cramer

Me with my two recovered guitars: '54 Chambered Reissue "Cloud 9", '57 Les Paul Junior Reissue

 

[rockabilly69]

I know how you feel, I got two of my guitars back from a robbery a year or two later. Enjoy your guitars, good has won over evil

 

[garywright]

glad ya got 'em back ! ..sounds like some LPF members were looking out for ya on the 'bay, even 4 1/2 year later :salude

 

[Steely Sam]

Awesome story! Good to hear there are still honest people out there.

 

[mrhappy]

tremendous!!

 

[mistersnappy]

Right on! Congrats!

 

[58Lover]

Men, that is SO cool to here. Congrats. All the right things plus a little luck and, viola!

 

[slater529]

I love happy endings. Reading this made my day!

 

[moonweasel]

F$%king right! So happy for you!

 

[CRAMER]

Thanks All! It's nice to have the guitar back, but is also nice to know members of the guitar community, and LPF members especially, are looking out for one another.