Canadian Regional Police Seek Information on Man who Stole $8,000 Les Paul by Hiding it in His Pants

A man stuffs an $8,000 Les Paul down his pants (left), a close-up shot of the suspect in the music store
(Image credit: York Regional Police/YouTube)

York Regional Police in Canada are seeking information on a suspect who stole an $8,000 Les Paul by stuffing it down his pants.

Earlier this week, police posted CCTV video of the heist, which took place on December 20, 2021 at Cosmo Music in Richmond Hill, Ontario. 

In the video, the suspect – a white male in his 20s wearing baggy pants, a black coat, and a Toronto Maple Leafs baseball hat – can be seen sitting on a stool with a Gibson Custom Shop 60th Anniversary ’59 Les Paul Standard, valued at $8,000.

After a quick scan around the store, the man slowly inserts the guitar, headstock-first, down his pants. He then unzips his coat and wraps it around the guitar's still-protruding body, before zipping it back up.

You can watch the crime unfold yourself in the CCTV footage below.

Having evaded detection thus far, the suspect then casually picks up an acoustic guitar to further avoid prying eyes. 

Though unfortunately we don't get to see what must've been an incredibly cautious (not to mention awkward) walk out the front door, the suspect managed to pull it off without drawing the attention of any fellow shoppers or Cosmo Music employees.

Once he had left the store, the suspect then rendezvoused with an accomplice – described by police as a 20-30-year-old white male wearing a black mask, a black hoodie, and sunglasses – who drove them away from the store.

York police are asking anyone with possible information on the heist to call 1-866-876-5423 ext.7241 or leave an anonymous online tip.

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Jackson Maxwell
Associate Editor, GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com

Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.