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Police recovery of stolen guitars strikes a chord as musician departs

Victoria musician Hal Osmond had his life packed up in a U-Haul and ready to move back to his home province, Newfoundland.
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Hal Osmond with the precious Ovation guitar he has been playing for 20 years: "That's my little baby.'

Victoria musician Hal Osmond had his life packed up in a U-Haul and ready to move back to his home province, Newfoundland.

So when the U-Haul was broken into and his two prized possessions — the Ovation and Martin guitars that helped him shape his music career — were stolen, Osmond said it was like a piece of him was gone.

“It was heartbreaking for me,” said the 62-year-old, who has been playing music since he was a teen.

Osmond said most of his possessions were packed in the U-Haul, which was parked in the company’s parking lot on Topaz Avenue. He was getting ready for a move back to Newfoundland after 32 years in Victoria.

On April 7, he got a call from a man who was jogging around Topaz Park and found some music sheets and binders with Osmond’s name and phone number on it.

“I said to my wife: ‘Somebody’s got into the truck,’ ” Osmond said.

The U-Haul had been broken into and ransacked. Items valued about $5,000 were missing.

Osmond’s Ovation guitar had the most sentimental value. He has had it since 1994 when he started his band, the Newfie Trio (the joke is there’s only two in the band). The guitar carried him through at gigs across Vancouver Island and at the Irish Times pub, where the band plays traditional East Coast music.

“That’s my little baby,” Osmond said. “You get so attached to your equipment.”

The Martin guitar, worth about $1,800, was also gone, along with speakers, monitors, microphones and a seal-skin guitar strap made by a now-deceased friend.

Osmond reported the theft to the Victoria police. The crime-reduction unit, which targets prolific property criminals, took over the file. Investigators canvassed local pawn shops and music-consignment stores with a description of the guitars.

Officers were able to quickly identify a suspect who had tried to sell the guitars, Victoria police spokesman Const. Mike Russell said.

On Thursday, a warrant was issued for the suspect’s home, where some of the equipment was found.

The Victoria man pointed officers to the location of the guitars and monitor system.

The accused, a well-known property criminal, is facing two charges of possession of property obtained by crime and one count of theft under $5,000.

When the investigating officer called Osmond saying they had recovered his guitars, “I was just flabbergasted,” he said. “I was just dancing around the floor, I was so happy.”

While Osmond didn’t get everything back, he’s happy to have his guitars to take back with him to Newfoundland, where he’ll continue to play music. His bandmate, Herb Nicholas, is there waiting for him.

kderosa@timescolonist.com