Breaking: sheriff impound was holding Marshall instruments [UPDATED]

Some, and maybe all, of the missing Marshall Fundamental band instruments had been in a sheriff’s impound yard since they were recovered Tuesday night, according to Altadena Sheriff Capt. Christopher Reed.

 

It wasn’t until Friday that the sheriff’s department realized that they were holding the instruments, which Marshall was counting on for the district band festival Friday and a Disneyland appearance on Saturday.

Between $8,000-$10,000 of band instruments and sound equipment was taken in a burglary at the high school on Saturday, Feb. 28.  Losses included many students’ personal instruments as well as instruments belonging to the school district.

News of the loss went out widely Wednesday night and Thursday when AltadenaPoint content partner PasadenaNow reported news of the theft. The community responded by loaning instruments from other schools and individuals so the band could play at their events.  There was also a GoFundMe campaign launched that raised $12,000 in just a couple of days to replace the instruments.

However, on Tuesday night, March 3 — before the theft was widely known — Altadena deputies saw a suspicious man rummaging through a 2001 Mercedes Benz station wagon on the 2800 block of East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.  When the deputies confronted him, he gave chase and lost them — but inside the station wagon were several cases of musical instruments and electronics marked as property of Pasadena Unified School District.

According to the sheriff’s department, the suspect remains at large.

According to Reed, the station wagon was towed to a county impound yard for sheriff detectives’ investigation.  Reed said that, if they followed the regular schedule, detectives wouldn’t get to the van to collect fingerprints and DNA evidence until Monday, March 9.

Reed said that the sheriff’s department called the school district Wednesday morning, but whoever answered the phone said they were unaware of any theft.

It wasn’t until Friday — when the publicity went out — that the sheriff’s department realized they had at least some of the instruments all along Reed said.

“[Detectives] weren’t supposed to come out until Monday.  As soon as the story broke that that’s where those instruments were.  I called the detectives to the station and said get to the crime lab, get to those instruments.”

UPDATE 12 PM: Capt. Reed said that the instruments were ready to be released late Friday night, but they were informed the band teacher was already asleep before the Disneyland performance.  The band will be playing today on borrowed instruments, but their own instruments are currently in sheriff custody and ready to be returned. An earlier version of this story said they had been returned.

UPDATE II, 12 PM: PUSD has issued the following statement:

The Pasadena Unified School District and Marshall Fundamental School are grateful to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the Pasadena Police Department for their quick work in reportedly recovering some of the instruments and equipment that were stolen from Marshall last weekend. Once the instruments have been returned to Marshall, the school can begin accounting for what instruments and equipment have been recovered by law enforcement and what is still missing. The district is working in full cooperation with the Pasadena Police Department as they continue to investigate the burglary at Marshall.

The Marshall students, staff, parents and band boosters have been touched by the generosity of the community in supporting the band and the students who had their instruments stolen. The individuals and families who contributed to the Marshall Band Booster’s GoFundMe appeal shows how much this community cares about its students and the importance of the arts in our schools. The loaning of instruments by other PUSD school music programs has allowed students from Marshall to play Friday at the PUSD All-District Secondary Music Festival and today at Disneyland. The school and its band director Joel Lopez have been contacted by businesses and donors from across the Southland offering their assistance as well. Those that are still interested in helping support the Marshall Band should contact Jane Bradford, president of the Marshall Band Boosters at marshallmusicboosters@gmail.com. Once the instruments recovered by law enforcement are returned to the school, we can then assess what need still exists for the Marshall band program.

UPDATE III: We have a message out to district spokesperson Adam Wolfson asking for a statement on what happened after the sheriff’s department originally called the district Wednesday morning to inform them of the instruments’ recovery, and why it didn’t get anywhere.