The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
An ex-actor who co-starred in a Jack Black movie when he was a teenager was recently accused of four incidents where musical instruments were taken from stores and pawned for cash.
At the end of January, a North Florida music store called in to report the theft of an $800 Les Paul electric guitar and issued a description of the suspect and the serial number of the instrument to the authorities.
In February, the police department was furnished information from the County Sheriff’s Office informing them that about 90 minutes after the alleged theft a pawn shop had purchased a guitar with the same serial number as the Les Paul that was reported stolen.
The collected data pointed the police in the direction of 27-year-old Joseph Gaydos, who played guitar in the movie “School of Rock” and has been employed in a self-promoted music career as a guitarist in his bands for nearly two decades.
On February 7, a $700 Stratocaster reportedly went missing from a different music store and after watching the surveillance video they suspected it was another act performed by Gaydos. The guitar’s serial number was later traced to a pawn transaction that was made using Gaydos’ driver’s license.
Four days later, Gaydos was reportedly at another music store when he fled with an amplifier, and a half an hour later he allegedly tried to walk out of another store with a Les Paul guitar valued at $1900. When he was on his way out of the establishment, he was reportedly spotted by the workers in the store and they were able to hold him while the police made their way to the location.
Gaydos was taken into custody, and for all of the alleged sticky-fingered activities, he is facing four felony charges for retail grand theft.
He was reported as giving a statement confirming that he was the perpetrator of the incidents due to an addiction to drugs and that he believed he should be arrested. The police complied with his request and he is being held in the county jail.
If you or someone you love is suspected of grand theft, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.