The Music Center Has Been in Business for 50 Years, but It Has Been the Target of Repeated High-Value Thefts in Recent Years.
Los Angeles Councilwoman Lana Negrete’s music store has been burglarized for the fourth time in recent years, with the latest incident occurring over the past weekend.
The criminal returned to the scene of the crime and stole multiple items. The Music Center has been in business for 50 years, but it has been the target of repeated high-value thefts in recent years.
The spate of theft began in 2020 when the store was looted during the riots that spread from Downtown. In 2021, thieves smashed a window and stole several guitars that were used to support the nonprofit music charity Negrete runs from the same location. Guitar Center replaced those instruments, only for the replacements to be stolen just a few months later.
Each theft has had its own method, ranging from looters storming into the store to criminals carefully bypassing the store’s alarms and motion sensors or using a brick to smash the window.
The business rents its location and does not have permission from their landlord to install heavier security options like bars or metal screens.