HOUSTON — Houston police are looking for a brazen, busy guitar thief who is accused of targeting several music stores around town.
The stores all have the same story. They say the woman visits and asks to test out expensive guitars and then runs out with the instrument.
She's been caught on camera doing it, possibly stealing about $10,000 worth of guitars across town.
Shop owners are warning each other so they don't become the next target.
At Southpaw Guitars in southwest Houston, the alleged thief was caught on camera.
In a surveillance video, the woman was seen running out of the store with an instrument, getting into a U-Haul and driving away.
Shop owners said the same woman has been doing the same thing across Houston since Saturday. They've been sharing photos on social media and tipping off other owners to be aware.
The owner of Infinity Guitars said the woman visited his store on Tuesday but, since he was already aware of the thefts, he was extra cautious.
"If I hadn't been tipped off that day before, it probably would have happened to me, too, because I was on the lookout. And as soon as I saw her and she matched the description, I had my guard up," Randy Lutz said. "It's really disappointing. Obviously, we get angry because, you know, a lot of the stores are very small mom-and-pop. And for them to lose a guitar, that's a $3,000 guitar. I mean, it really hits them and it can mess up their whole Christmas season."
Several stores said they filed police reports, but so far, she still hasn't been caught.
Owners are just hoping to get their guitars back.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.