Man’s alleged theft of $3,000 sound mixer from Bellingham music store part of a spree
A Kent man is suspected of stealing a sound mixer worth nearly $3,000 from the Guitar Center store in Bellingham, a crime believed to be part of a spree of similar alleged thefts from the music retail chain throughout the region the past few years.
Sergio Lopez, 42, was booked into Whatcom County Jail Monday, Dec. 2, for a failure to appear warrant for second-degree theft, and jail records show he is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Bellingham Police were called to the Guitar Center at 3960 Meridian St. for the report of a theft on May 18, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents filed Nov. 1. Employees reported that a male customer had stolen a PreSonus sound mixer, which is valued at $2,999.
A store employee said the man, later identified as Lopez, walked around the store and at one point asked when the store would be closing, court documents state, before he was seen walking out of the store carrying the sound mixer.
Employees followed Lopez to a blue Dodge Durango, court documents state.
Another employee contacted other Guitar Centers and found that there had been series of similar thefts the past few years involving Lopez, documents said, and one sent a picture of a blue Dodge Durango that was used in a theft at that store.
After police created a lineup, court documents state an employee picked out Lopez’s picture.
Bellingham Police were notified at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday that Lopez was in custody of another law enforcement agency, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald, and asked that they sign off on the warrant for theft. Murphy said she did not have record of where Lopez was arrested or any other details.
Murphy also said the Bellingham Police report did not have specific information about what or how much was allegedly stolen from other Guitar Center stores, but the other jurisdictions mentioned were Seattle, Redmond and Beaverton, Oregon.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
