‘You feel invaded’: Thief steals $8K of music gear from Tacoma musician’s car
$8K of music equipment stolen from man's car in Tacoma
Thousands of dollars of music gear stolen from a musician’s car parked right in front of his home. Tyler Mcginnis told FOX 13 that this happened earlier this week. His truck was parked in front of his home in Tacoma and inside was $8,000 worth of music gear and his band’s merchandise.
TACOMA, Wash. - Thousands of dollars of music gear stolen from a musician’s car parked right in front of his home. Tyler Mcginnis told FOX 13 that this happened earlier this week. His truck was parked in front of his home in Tacoma and inside was $8,000 worth of music gear and his band’s merchandise.
"My heart sunk," Mcginnis said. "[There] was a pa system, a lot of guitar pedals, harmonicas, cables and chords, a lot of our band’s merchandise, vinyl’s, cd’s, t-shirts," Mcginnis said.
There were also irreplaceable items, like this portrait of a couple that they named Pat and Bev, which Mcginnis found at a thrift store and serves as their band’s mascot.
"They’ve come to hundreds and hundreds of shows with us," Mcginnis said. His partner Chelsey Whilding did everything she could to help. "I was like thankfully, we’re both musicians. Maybe I have some of what you need, I have a mic, I have a mic cable, but he had actually taken some of that with him," Whilding said.
She told FOX 13, it’s a microphone that she’s had for 10 years and is sentimental.
"You never expect this sort of thing to happen and when it does, you feel so hopeless and you feel invaded," Mcginnis said.
He filed a police report, contacted his insurance, then went to the Guitar Center because he had a gig the next day, but his visit there struck a chord. The store told Mcginnis that someone had been there earlier trying to sell his gear.
Tyler Mcginnis and his partner Chelsey.
"It was pretty disheartening, "McGinnis said. "We take accountability where we can, but at the end of the day, we’re not the ones who broke into someone’s car and take their really valuable stuff," Whilding said.
As for the person who took their gear, they hope they’ll see this and self-reflect. "You didn’t just take items that are all replaceable, there are some that are truly not replaceable," Whilding said.
Mcginnis also acknowledges that you shouldn’t leave valuables in your car, but on this particular night, he told FOX 13, didn’t get home until 1 a.m. after driving 600 miles to and from Chelan and other places for his music gig. "I thought everything is locked and safe, I’ll grab it in the morning, but you can never be too safe," Mcginnis said.
The couple told FOX 13, they’re grateful to the music community for their support. Some have reached out and let Mcginnis use some of their gear.
They also have a GoFundMe set up, which you can find here.
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