Police Recover $3,000 Guitar Stolen from Woodbury Music Go Round

A Hastings man who allegedly stole a guitar from the Woodbury Music Go Round has been charged in the theft of a $3,000 Gibson.

Carl William McPhillips, 30, allegedly took the guitar from the Woodbury store on Feb. 17 and sold it two days later at the Guitar Center in Oakdale.

On Feb. 18, police were called to Music Go Round, where employees said a man came in with multiple guitar cases the day before and surveillance footage showed him stealing the guitar by placing it one of the cases, according to the criminal complaint. He was in the store for nearly an hour.

On Feb. 19, police learned that a Gibson guitar with the same serial number as the instrument stolen in Woodbury had been sold at Guitar Center. Paperwork at the Oakdale store identified McPhillips as the man who sold the guitar, and a Music Go Round worker was able to identify him as the thief in a photo lineup, the complaint says.

McPhillips was arrested and charged, and officers discovered that he has a lengthy criminal history, including thefts, burglaries and controlled-substance crimes.

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