In the middle of March, Black Label Society guitarist Zakk Wylde's $10,000 custom Les Paul was stolen outside The Chicago Theater. Notices had been put out to pawn shops and news of the theft was all over the Internet… just the whole nine yards as far as getting the word out.
Now we can confirm the guitar has been found at Royal Pawn Shop in Chicago! According to the Chicago Tribune, the guitar was sold to the shop on March 24, about 10 days after reported being stolen. The owner of the shop, which was featured on the show Hardcore Pawn, Randy Cohen seems like he had no idea what was going on.
"'I forgot about (the alert),' Cohen said. 'That happens every day. To be honest, I can't remember (expletive).'
But the seller's information was recorded as part of the transaction, the Cohens said, and the guitar's serial number and description was entered into an online database accessible by law enforcement across the country.
The guitar then sat in storage at the pawn shop for the 30-day period required under Chicago ordinance, Cohen said.
Cohen said an employee originally paid around $50 for the guitar. But as the brothers took a closer look, they said they started to realize the guitar could be more valuable.
'I said you know what, let's get this thing checked out,' Wayne Cohen said."
So hey, it was found and the dude figured it out. No word on if the guys who stole the guitar yet have been located, though the shop does have their names at least. Here's to hoping they didn't use any false identification, because people like that need to get bagged!
More importantly, Wylde can get back to rockin' once more.
