Police sweep camp, find rare guitars stolen from band on tour in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. — A band that had thousands of dollars’ worth of gear stolen while touring through Portland has been reunited with many of their unique guitars.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s frontman Anton Newcombe tweeted Thursday that Portland Police helped track down “most of our guitars.” He also extended thanks for the "unbelievable kindness of the Portland music community" and to everyone who helped spread the word about the theft.
The band was in Portland for a performance at the Roseland Theater on April 19 when they had much of their gear stolen.
PAST COVERAGE |Band touring in Portland has more than $50,000 of gear stolen overnight
After postponing some recent performances due to COVID-19, the group played the Portland show as scheduled.
Nearly ten days later, Newcombe said some of the stolen gear is back. It included several unique guitars which he said were valued at tens of thousands of dollars.
Portland Police said they went to clear a camp by Interstate 405 and North Kerby Avenue, which has been the site of a recent homicide and several stolen vehicles.
"During the abatement, officers recovered 5 of 6 stolen guitars and other equipment taken in an April 18, 2022 theft from The Brian Jonestown Massacre band that was touring in Portland," police said. "These guitars are reportedly from the 1960’s and have enormous sentimental value and are not easily replaceable."
During the sweep, police also found a stolen Subaru, suspected Fentanyl pills and drug paraphernalia, damaged car parts - like catalytic converters, and other property likely associated with thefts or burglaries.
Officers say they also found 3-week-old puppies at the camp. They say the puppies were being well-cared for, and their owner had a plan to take them to another location.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is currently in Texas, and will wrap up the tour with a performance in Washington, D.C.
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During the clean-up, officers encountered a large litter of 3-week-old puppies with the owner. They were being well-cared for and the owner had a plan to take them to another location.
“I am extremely proud of the efforts of our dedicated district and NRT officers who worked together to address this criminal base of operations,” said North Precinct Commander Tina Jones. “We are happy to be able to locate and reunite valuable and sentimental items with their rightful owners and hope the actions taken improve public safety in this area. The conditions of the area were deplorable and a public safety hazard. We also appreciate our partners who assisted in cleaning up the detritus to improve the condition of our city.”
The North Neighborhood Response Team focuses on livability issues and works with a variety of partners to identify opportunities to problem solve and increase public safety.
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