Two East Nashville music store owners chased down and recorded two thieves who stole a $1,500 Eastman mandolin.
It happened Saturday afternoon at Fanny's House of Music, located at 1101 Holly Street.
"There were a couple gentlemen in here and I actually talked to them, they seemed familiar," said Fanny's co-owner Pamela Cole. "I just had a sense and was keeping a good eye on them."
Cole's co-owner stood by the front door with a friend when the two men exited the store.
"I noticed one of them was holding a jacket up, like he was putting the jacket on the other fellow," Cole said. "The other owner’s friend said to check their jacket."
The two men took off, but the group followed, while also recording the encounter on a cell phone. Eventually, the thieves gave up the mandolin, but then took off on foot. Police have not located the men.
But music store owners throughout Nashville said instrument theft is not uncommon, which is why stores work together to combat thieves.
"We communicate more with police and with each other," said Walter Carter, who owns Carter's Vintage Guitars. "If someone has told us to be on the lookout for a stolen instrument, we may talk to another store."
Carter said at least once a week someone will call his store to describe stolen instruments, in case the thief tries to resell them.
At Fanny's, it's a process that hasn't helped recover any instruments yet, but it does give Cole some peace of mind.
"It just makes me feel better that other people are going through the same thing," she said.
If you have any information about the men in the cell phone video, you're encouraged to call Metro Police.
