ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Police have arrested 57-year-old Garfield Bennett in connection with the theft of two irreplaceable instruments from the band Heart during a performance at the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena last week.
Authorities identified Bennett through surveillance footage captured around 2 a.m. on May 30, which showed him stealing the instruments. Additional footage later revealed Bennett attempting to sell the valuable items at various locations in Atlantic City.
Bennett was taken into custody on June 4 and faces charges of burglary and theft. He has an extensive criminal record, including a burglary arrest just last April. Before his arrest, Bennett managed to sell one of the stolen instruments.
The stolen items include a custom-built, one-of-a-kind purple sparkle baritone Telecaster guitar made specifically for Heart’s guitarist Nancy Wilson, and a vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin played by multi-instrumentalist Paul Moak for over 25 years. The whereabouts of one instrument remain unknown.
Police are asking anyone who may have the missing instrument to contact the Atlantic City Police Department immediately. Failure to surrender the stolen property could result in criminal charges for receiving stolen goods.
Heart continues its “An Evening With…” tour, which is scheduled to conclude on June 28, before launching a summer tour in August.