At least one encore remains for the $650,000 violin stolen from USC this month, and thought it was lost forever.
Detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department announced Tuesday that the suspect is in custody after a 1694 Giovanni Grancino violin from Milanese, which was stolen two weeks ago, had been recovered and the suspect was in custody.
det. Stephanie Gutierrez, who led the investigation, said the instrument appeared to be intact, but experts paid by the Private Party would test the violin to confirm its condition.
“I’m a historic person. When I heard this was from 1694, I just said, ‘They can’t replace this,’ and we need to find it,” Gutierrez said.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has confirmed that 31-year-old Jonathan Saldana has been charged with felony grand theft. He was arrested on April 9th and pleaded not guilty on April 11th.
Saldana is being held at the Pitches Detention Centre North Facility in Castatic. He returned to court on April 25th.
No calls to his official defense attorney were returned.
Police alleges that a suspect who believes Gutierrez is homeless chased USC graduate students into the music department on April 2.
The student swipes the card for door access. Police believe Saldana has allowed her to slip behind the students.
“It’s a safe facility, but the doors close very slowly and anyone can walk right away,” Gutierrez said. “I sat across from the door and I was able to go back and forth ten times before closing.”
USC did not respond to questions from The Times.
Gutierrez said surveillance camera footage showed the student practicing with the 331-year-old violin on the couch. She then placed the instrument for study.
Meanwhile, Gutierrez is said to have seen the violin being unmanned and went out with the instrument and the case. He is also accused of stealing a scooter on his way off campus around 5:30pm.
Gutierrez said Saldana used surveillance footage to identify the buildings in the county where she received homeless services.
She eventually identified him and his family’s home. He no longer lived in the house, but police said he stopped in frequently and dropped off his laundry.
Gutierrez said Saldana’s stepfather confirmed that he saw Saldana carrying the violin incident.
The violin was recovered at a camp near West 31st Avenue and Main Street, not too far from USC.
Gutierrez said no one wanted to barter with Saldana for this instrument, and another homeless person ultimately stole it. Gutierrez said he spoke to the individual who returned the violin on Thursday around 9:30pm.
Gutierrez said the violin was being rented out by a private owner in Los Angeles to a music store in Koreatown.
“To be honest, I told my owner that the violin would probably be sold soon and that the suspect would find it difficult,” Gutierrez said. “We were shocked that the violin was still nearby. We’re so happy that we found it.”
