Seattle police arrested a 36-year-old man on Capitol Hill early Sunday morning after he tuned up another man he mistakenly believed had stolen his guitar.
Around 4:15 AM, officers were called to 11th Avenue and E. Pike Street where they found a 26-year-old man with cuts on his hands and legs and missing patch of hair, along with a very agitated 36-year-old man who claimed the 26-year-old had stolen his guitar.
Officers separated the two men and spoke with the 26-year-old victim, who told police he had never met the suspect before and had no idea what the suspect was talking about. The 26-year-old told police he had been walking down Broadway when the 36-year-old man approached him and demanded his guitar back. Bewildered by the suspect’s request, the 26-year-old man took off running.
The victim said the suspect then chased after him, shoved him to the ground and ripped out a fistful of his hair.
When officers questioned the 36-year-old, he told police he had only asked the victim to hold onto his guitar, and had only picked a fight with the victim when he ran off.
After determining the suspect had chased down and attacked an innocent man, officers learned the suspect also had an out-of-state warrant and arrested the 36-year-old.
Not long after that, another officer came upon a man having an early morning jam session parking lot about a block from the scene of the attack. The man, who was strumming away at a guitar, told the officer he’d been waiting waiting for the suspect to come back and get his instrument.
Officers booked the 36-year-old into the King County Jail for assault and the out-of-state warrant.