DAVIDSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — While many families across Middle Tennessee were focused on staying warm and keeping the lights on during last week’s winter storm, one man in Southeast Nashville returned home to a different kind of shock.
Russell Dufresne’s house on Creekside Drive had been broken into while his power was out. Thieves kicked in the back door, ransacked the home and stole nine vintage guitars — instruments that represented nearly a decade of memories.
“It’s like having part of my soul amputated,” Dufresne said.
The break-in happened about a week after Dufresne moved to Nashville from Minnesota for a new job at Nashville Amplifier Service.
After dealing with power outages last Tuesday, Dufresne returned home to find the damage. “The back door was kicked in and the house was ransacked, and they took nine of my 14 guitars,” he said.
Among the stolen instruments was a 1975 Les Paul Custom, his favorite guitar and the very first one he ever received — a gift from his late father.
“That’s been my favorite guitar,” Dufresne said. “I’ve even got it tattooed on my arm.”
Other guitars included a 1976 Telecaster Deluxe that Dufresne said he bought in his 20s from a guitar shop in Minneapolis. He said he hadn’t even lived in Nashville long enough to take the guitars out of their cases.
“They took a big piece of my life away,” he said.
While the stolen guitars are worth thousands of dollars, Dufresne said their true value can’t be measured.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” he said.
It's now been twoo weeks and Dufresne has called local music shops and pawn stores to report the stolen instruments. However, he said he did not have the serial numbers written down, which will make recovery more difficult. His renter’s insurance will only cover part of the loss.
To help rebuild, Dufresne has launched a GoFundMe campaign, hoping to slowly replace what was taken.
Despite the heartbreak, he said the support he’s received from strangers has helped him keep moving forward.
“I can’t fathom that lack of empathy — it’s out there, people are cruel,” Dufresne said. “But there are a lot of amazing people out there, too.”
This story was reported by Aaron Cantrell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Here’s a beautiful story of how one mother turned her grief journey into a gathering of gratitude… and organ donation awareness.
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- Rhori Johnston
