Guitars missing from Petaluma music store after alleged Christmas heist

Four guitars valued at nearly $11,000 were reportedly stolen from Tall Toad Music in the early hours of Christmas Day, according to an employee from the decades-old Petaluma business.

Around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, a passerby reported seeing a brick left next to the shattered front window of the 43 Petaluma Blvd. North business, Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said.

A rare 1999 Rickenbacker 660 12-string guitar, valued at $2,749, and a 1967 Gibson ES335, valued at $5,498, were among the instruments swiped during the break-in, according to General Manager Chris Miano.

Other missing guitars included a new $999 Fender PM2 and a 2006 Heritage H535, valued at $1,749, he said. Nothing else was reported missing from the store.

“They came straight for the guitars and they went quickly,” Miano said.

Employees reportedly secured the building when they left around 6 p.m. or 7 p.m. the previous evening, Miano said. The business is equipped with an alarm system, but Miano said he missed a 4:49 a.m. phone notification about the system’s activation.

There was no one inside the building when police arrived, Lyons said.

Police are investigating the incident and reviewing security footage from inside the store and from surrounding businesses, though no arrests have been made, Lyons said. A suspect description wasn’t immediately available.

No other break-ins were reported in the time frame, Lyons said.

Tall Toad Music, which offers music lessons and a wide array of new and used instruments, has been in Petaluma since 1988. Miano, who has worked at the store for 15 years, lamented the loss of the instruments he hand-picked to accompany the inventory of 800 guitars.

“(I’m) not happy,” Miano said. “But we’ve got to open back up and get back to it.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Petaluma Police Department at 778-4372.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)