Man jailed for theft of guitar from T in the Park band

A MAN was today jailed for eight months after he admitted attempting to sell a stolen a guitar worth around £2000 which belonged to rock band Le Blonde Dames.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Graham Dempster, 29, was caught when he tried to sell it at a shop and the sales assistant became suspicious.

Le Blonde Dames had been staying at the Radisson Blu at the High Street while they were performing at T in the Park. The guitar was stolen from the hotel at around 10.30am on 9 July.

Fiscal depute Catherine Gibson said: "The accused and another male went to Cash Converters in Clerk Street. The accused had the guitar in a bag. He said he wanted to sell it and how much would he get for it. He said it was an unwanted gift. He was offered a low price as the assistant wanted to put him off."

The court heard Dempster then left the shop saying he wanted around 100 for it and went to another store. The sales assistant at the second shop looked up the price of the guitar and saw that it was a custom made 'Handle' guitar. He became suspicious and contacted the police.

When police stopped the accused he told them he had bought the guitar but gave no further details.

Dempster, of Ferry Road, Edinburgh, admitted a charge of reset on 9 July at Clerk Street, Edinburgh. The court heard he had only just been released on licence and Sheriff Derrick McIntyre ordered that he go back to prison to serve the unexpired portion of his sentence - two months - in addition to the sentence passed today.

He was originally charged with stealing the guitar from the Radisson Blu but the Crown accepted the amended reset guilty plea.

Defence agent Sandra Walker said Dempster had been released from prison that day with around 75 release money and when he was offered the guitar he thought he could sell it for a quick profit. He had no idea of its value, she added, and thought he would get 120 - 150 for it.

Mrs Walker added that Dempster had had drug difficulties in the past but was now due to get a methadone prescription.

The guitar is to be reunited with its owner, Chris Garcia. The band, who come from Alhambra in California feature two guitarists Jesse Chavez and Chris Garcia and two drummers Anthony Zepeda and Nathan Flores.