Alleged N.S. distortion pedal thief to face the music: ‘The suspect made no attempt to pay for the pedals’

Sometimes the guitar licks are hot, but in this case, it was the distortion pedals.

Matthew Kehoe, an account manager with Long & McQuade, contacted police at 1:50 p.m. on Sept. 24 about four of the devices used to produce fuzzy, growling and gritty tones from electric guitars that had gone missing from the Cunard Street music emporium.

“Staff members drew Kehoe’s attention to the missing pedals, and it was discovered they had been stolen,” Halifax Regional Police Det.-Const. Craig Smith said in a warrant application.

The manager was able to review the store’s surveillance video, “identifying the moment each pedal was removed from its display,” Smith said.

Angry Charlie 

A red JHS model called Angry Charlie and a gold one dubbed Cheese Ball Fuzz were amongst the missing. The devices retail for between $200 and $250.

“Kehoe located three of the stolen pedals on Kijiji,” the detective said in information to obtain a warrant filed at Halifax provincial court.

“The seller’s name was Tyler.”

In the surveillance video from Long & McQuade, “the suspect is observed removing the pedals from the display, walking to another area of the store, and depositing them in his satchel bag before exiting the store at 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 22 again at 4:25 p.m. on Sept. 23,” Smith said, noting the time stamp on the security video was about 20 minutes slow.

“The suspect made no attempt to pay for the pedals he concealed in his satchel bag,” said the detective.

The Kijiji ad for the distortion pedals contained the seller’s photo, he said.

‘One in the same’

Police were “able to confirm that the suspect in the video and the Kijiji seller were one in the same.” Smith said.

Kehoe communicated with Tyler via the online retail site.

“Tyler said that he resides on Willow Street near Oxford School,” said the detective.

Police advised the Long & McQuade account manager that they “can’t direct him to engage with the seller (Tyler), nor can we advise how to do so or prevent him from doing so,” Smith said.

‘At home with the pedals’

Investigators got an email from Kehoe at 11:10 a.m. on Sept. 25 letting police know that he’d heard from Tyler, who “would be at home with the pedals today at 3:30 .”

Tyler gave Kehoe his address. Police checked a database to find a 36-year-old man named Tyler Harland lived at that home on Willow Street. They double checked on his driver’s licence photo that it was the same man with the same address.

Smith spoke with Kehoe on the phone, learning the stolen guitar gear included a gold-coloured JHS Distortion pedal, a red Angry Charlie pedal of the same make, and a yellow Xotic AC booster pedal.

“Through Kijiji, Tyler advised Kehoe that they were at home with him,” said the detective.

Five pedals seized

Smith convinced a justice of the peace to grant a search warrant for the seller’s Willow Street home. The detective intended to knock on the door and look for the pedals.

Police seized five distortion pedals from the home, returning three of them to Long & McQuade and keeping two MXR pedals, one green and the other orange, “to be returned to owner,” Smith said.

Harland was arraigned earlier this week on four charges, including two counts of theft under $5,000, and possession of stolen goods under $5,000.

His case has been referred to restorative justice. Harland is slated to return to Halifax provincial court Jan. 25.