A theft involving drum sets originally belonging to Poison drummer Rikki Rockett has come to a happy conclusion after a tip from a Seattle-area music store employee. The thieves, unaware of the close-knit nature of Seattle’s music community, were apprehended, and all five stolen drum sets were returned undamaged.
Last week, Drummers Of The Pacific Northwest announced on social media that an assortment of Poison drummer Rikki Rockett’s gear had been stolen from Donn’s Drum Vault in Burien, WA. Vault owner Donn Bennett posted the following message along with photos of the stolen drums:
“Stolen Drums!! Several drum sets from the collection of Rikki Rockett from Poison were stolen from our warehouse in Burien WA. They are all extremely unique and easily identified. Please let me know if you see them anywhere. Thanx!”
Earlier today, Rikki Rockett took to social media, sharing the good news that all his stolen drum kits had been recovered. According to Donn Bennett:
“All of Rikki Rockett’s Poison stolen drums have been found!!!
My sincere appreciation to everyone who helped spread the word. My deepest appreciation to our friends at the Tukwilla Guitar Center for their cool and quick action and for keeping the thieves occupied until the police arrived. Also to our new friends at the Burien Sheriff Department for their great police work and for being total pros! Thief was arrested. All of the drums were recovered and returned in perfect condition.
I feel deeply fortunate to be part of our drum community that watches out for each other like we all do. Keep it up. This is a big win for the good guys!”
Donn Bennett, a broker of rare musical instruments, was the first to discover the theft.
“I mean this is what I do, I deal in rare musical instruments,” said Donn Bennett, of Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault. “As soon as I got there, I saw the broken lock.”
His storage unit, which contained the drum sets valued at about $100,000, had been broken into. Quickly, Bennett discovered the theft.
Bennett was devastated by the loss. First, he filed a report with the King County Sheriff’s Office.
“He told me it was from the band Poison,” said Deputy Adriana Mazur of King County Sheriff’s Office. “I wasn’t really sure what Poison was initially until I did some– a little research.” Bennett also posted about the theft on social media and included photos of the stolen instruments.
The Facebook post was seen by Guitar Center Tukwila employee Andy Emery, a longtime friend of Bennett. The store has a program where they buy rare or high-quality vintage drums from the members of the public. “And I was like, that’s, that’s what I saw!” said Emery.
Emery realized he had just seen those exact drum sets the day before when a couple came into the store trying to sell them.
“They showed me pictures on their cell phone. They’re trying to be a little bit vague about the pictures, but I was able to get a, just the brand of drums. So I could say, ‘Okay, these are quality, but I need to see them in person,'” said Emery.
Emery immediately contacted Bennett. Bennett then shared Deputy Maruza’s contact info with him.On Friday, just two days later, the thieves returned to Guitar Center with the valuable drum sets in tow.
Emery acted interested in purchasing them off of them. “I immediately went in the back warehouse so he couldn’t hear me, called the detective,” said Emery.
Per Maruza’s suggestion, Emery stalled the suspects in an effort to keep them in the store while waiting for authorities to arrive. He said he slowly and meticulously filled out an intake form and took breaks to help other customers while the thieves stood nearby.