Stolen mandolins worth over Rs 6 lakh returned with a jaw-dropping hand-written note- you won’t believe why

Every day news rarely throws up a story like this. A music shop in New Jersey has gone viral online after a man who stole two mandolins from the store came back during the holiday season and quietly returned them. What surprised people even more was the small handwritten note he left behind, saying he had been drunk when he took them. The store owner shared the update on social media, and the story has been spreading widely since then.

Store owner says the mandolins have been recovered

The incident took place at Lark Street Music, which is owned by Buzzy Levine. He posted that the thief returned to the shop and left the mandolins inside shopping bags near the front door.

Levine wrote, “Recovered! Thank you all for spreading the clip of the theft of the two mandolins. An hour ago, the thief surreptitiously opened the front door and returned them in two shopping bags,” said Levine on the shop's Facebook page.

He also shared that he ran after the man when he realised what had happened.

He wrote, “I ran up to the door and saw him running down the street, so summoning all my feet' fleetness, I took off after him. Not so smart, I lost him, called 911, and they are in pursuit.”

Short note left with the instruments

Along with the mandolins, the man left a handwritten apology message. The note read, “SORRY, I BEEN DRUNK, MERRY CHRISTMAS. You are a good man.

Levine, who has been running the store since 1981, thanked everyone who helped share the earlier post.

He added, “Your re-posts and pressure definitely made him realise the walls were closing in. Thank you all!!! I feel like I'm in a TV movie,” Levine said.

CCTV earlier recorded the theft

Before the instruments were returned, the store had uploaded CCTV footage online. The video showed the man hiding the mandolins under his parka before walking out.

The original alert post stated, “How to steal 2 mandolins at the same time! Be on the lookout for this criminal and the Gibson F-12 #A2985 and a Weber Yellowstone #9360302. This thief has a Montenegrin accent,” the post read.

Mandolins worth over Rs 6 lakh together

According to a report by NDTV, the two mandolins were estimated to be worth Rs 3.1 lakh ($3,500) and Rs 3.8 lakh ($4,250). Christopher Kurschner, the captain of investigations at the Teaneck Police Department, stated that the case is still under investigation, and no arrests have been made so far.
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