There remains at least a reminder for a violin of $ 650,000 stolen from the USC this month and would have been lost forever.
The detectives of the Los Angeles police department announced on Tuesday that a violin of Milanese Giovanni Grancino of 1694 which had been stolen almost two weeks earlier was recovered, and a suspect is in detention.
Det. Stephanie Gutierrez, who directed the investigation, said that the instrument seemed unscathed, but that a specialist paid by a private part would inspect the violin to confirm his condition.
“I am a story of history, and when I heard that it was from 1694, I just said:” They cannot replace this “and it must be found,” said Gutierrez.
The Los Angeles County District Prosecutor’s office confirmed that Jonathan Saldana, 31, had been accused of crime theft. He was arrested on April 9 and pleaded not guilty on April 11.
Saldana is owned in the North Facility Pitché detention center in Castaic. He was back in court on April 25.
A call to his public defender was not returned.
Police alleys that the suspect, who, according to Gutierrez, is homeless, followed a student graduated from the USC in the music department on April 2.
The student slipped his card against access to the door, which, according to the police, allowed Saldana to slip behind the student.
“It is a secure installation, but the door closes so slowly that anyone can enter just behind,” said Gutierrez. “I sat in front of the door, and I could come and go 10 times before closing.”
The USC said he could not provide the student update due to confidentiality problems.
Gutierrez said images of surveillance cameras showed that the student was training with the 331 -year -old violin on a sofa. She then put the instrument to study.
Meanwhile, said Gutierrez, Saldana would have seen the violin unattended and would have been released with the instrument and his file. He is also accused of having stolen a scooter on the campus path around 5.30 p.m.
GUTIERREZ said that she had used surveillance images to identify a county building where Saldana had received homeless services.
She finally identified it as well as the house of her family. Although he no longer lived at home, he stopped frequently and placed the laundry, according to the police.
Gutierrez said that the Saldana stepfather confirmed that he had seen Saldana carry the case of a violin.
The violin was recovered in a camp near West 31st Street and Main Street, not far from the USC.
Gutierrez said that no one wanted to swap with Saldana for the instrument and that another homeless finally stole it. GUTIERREZ said that she had spoken with this person, who returned the violin Thursday around 9:30 p.m.
Gutierrez said the violin was loaned by private owners from Los Angeles to a music store in Koreatown, where he was borrowed by the student.
“I told the owners that, honestly, the violin was probably sold immediately and that the suspect would be difficult,” said Gutierrez. “I have been shocked that the violin is still in the surroundings, and I am so happy that we have found it.”
California Daily Newspapers
