"Supposed to be a safe place": More than $20K worth of music instruments stolen from UC Davis storage locker
DAVIS — Thousands of dollars worth of instruments were stolen from music students at UC Davis. The crime happened in what was supposed to be a safe storage area.
Amy Aguirre's last quarter on campus is ending on a somber note. The graduating music major had her banjo stolen from the storage locker.
"This is supposed to be a safe place and our instruments are supposed to be safe in there," she said.
The instrument has a lot of sentimental value.
"The banjo was my dad's," Aguirre said. "It also meant a lot to me."
She's not the only victim.
"All in all, we've had about seven students impacted by this," said Phil Daley, with the music department.
Daley said it appears the thief entered the music building sometime over a weekend when the doors are supposed to be locked.
"Somebody had come in with bolt cutters and knocked a bunch of these students' padlocks off," he said.
A saxophone used in the school's jazz combo is another instrument that was stolen, along with two cellos, a violin, a trumpet, and a guitar. Each instrument was owned by the students.
"It's really unfortunate," Aguirre said. "Most of us really can't afford to buy a new instrument and these instruments are not very cheap."
The crime comes at a crucial time for the victims.
"It's the end of the school year and many of these students are in the final weeks before a concert," Daley said.
The lockers were just installed last summer and allow students to store items that are cumbersome to carry on campus.
"People don't have cars and taking a cello on a bike kind of seems impossible," Aguirre said.
Now, the music department has taped them off and they're now looking at new options to try and stop this type of crime.
"We are in the process of reassessing the location of those because I think that it would be more secure to have them behind another set of doors," Daley said.
The total loss is estimated at more than $20,000, and so far, none of the instruments have been recovered and no arrests have been made.
