Tenleytown

Man Suspected of Twice Stealing Prized $4,400 Saxophone in Custody

Music store employee spotted man with saxophone on Metro

Police arrested a man suspected of stealing the same precious saxophone from a Northwest D.C. music shop twice in a matter of days.

The saxophone, valued at $4,400, was taken from Middle C Music in Tenleytown shortly after midnight on June 6, only to be recovered after an anonymous call in Northwest D.C. Saturday.

But just as store owner Myrna Sislen thought the robbery was resolved, the sax was stolen again about 4 a.m. Sunday.

Then Tuesday morning, a Middle C employee spotted a man with the saxophone on a Metro train. He took a photo of the suspect, followed him and called police.

Police arrested 55-year-old Vincent Stewart Hamond and charged him with two counts of burglary.

Surveillance video of both break-ins shows a man heading straight to the Gerald Albright Signature Series alto saxophone by Cannonball.

“It is maybe the most famous of the Cannonball Series alto saxophones," Sislen said. "The Gerald Albright is what everyone wants.”

Both surveillance videos show the man calmly taking the saxophone — in the first case off the wall and in the second case from a hidden location.

Sislen said she has a hunch that three failed attempted break-ins since August were the work of the same man.

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Police previously identified the suspect only as Vincent Stewart.

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