Employee arrested for stealing 31 instruments


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OREM — A music store employee was arrested after she allegedly stole 31 instruments from her employer.

Kalen Jones, 19, is accused of stealing more than $25,000 of instruments from Summerhays Music on 1006 S. State Street in Orem, where she works.

Orem police said that the store reported 31 musical guitars, trumpets, and violins were missing from their storage area on March 1.

An investigator on the case found an EBay listing for a trumpet for sale on April 8. Photos on the listing showed the instrument's serial number, which matched that of the stolen trumpet's.

"We knew what we were looking for, he was checking pawn shop databases, and the Internet, looking to see if they were selling these things online," Orem Police Sgt. Craig Martinez said.

The detective found the seller's information, leading them to Jones, who worked at Summerhays at the time of the thefts.

"It was good of Detective Rich to stick with it, even after the first week and the second week and the third week of no leads," Martinez said. "It was one of those cases he stuck with and was determined to find those things."

Police obtained a search warrant for Jones' home, at which they found 12 of the stolen instruments. Jones lives with her mother, Martinez said. The other instruments were believed to have already been sold online, Martinez said. Police believe Jones had been stealing and selling instruments for a couple of months.

"What it boiled down to, was she got away with a few of them the first month and thought that was easy and easy money and went back for more," Martinez said.

Jones was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail for possession of stolen property, a 2nd-degree felony. She is being held on $5,000 bail.

According to court records, Jones pleaded guilty in October to purchase or possession of alcohol by a minor. She was given a suspended 30-day jail sentence and placed on probation. In July, she took a plea in abeyance to unlawful consumption of alcohol by a minor, according to Utah State Court records, and ordered to undergo an alcohol treatment program.

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