Beloved guitar returned after police make arrests in school instruments theft 

Richard Stein knew the end was near for his older brother John, back in 2015, and wanted to honor him by celebrating their musical connection.

Stein, the orchestra teacher at Carle Place High School, purchased a Stratocaster electric guitar — the type their musical idol Jimi Hendrix played when they were children. But John died of cancer before he could hear his brother play the beloved instrument.

So, when the guitar, and a dozen other instruments, were stolen this month, Richard Stein was heartbroken.

"When I realized it was stolen, it was devastating," Stein said Tuesday at a police news conference to announce both the arrest of two men charged with the thefts and the return of the instruments to the school.

Gem Hattat, 27, of Lindenhurst, is charged with one count of third-degree burglary and two counts of third-degree attempted burglary. Jarrett Boyarsky, 27, of Westbury, faces two counts of third-degree burglary and two counts of attempted third-degree burglary. The two pleaded not guilty June 22 and were released on their own recognizance.

Karl Seman, Boyarsky's defense attorney, said his client is a recently discharged U.S. Army veteran who cooperated with detectives to retrieve the stolen items. Boyarsky and Hattat are high school classmates who did not attend school in Carle Place, he said.

"We are exploring defenses, including his lack of culpability and his lack of criminal intent," said Seman, who wants to move the case to Veterans Court.

Hattat's Legal Aid attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Police responded to an alarm in the early morning hours of June 21 at Rushmore Avenue School in Carle Place. While searching the school, officers received a call for a second alarm at the high school and responded to the scene. The suspects were arrested after jumping from the school's roof.

Evidence gathered through search warrants linked Hattat and Boyarsky to a June 4 burglary at the high school in which $5,000 in instruments and equipment were taken, authorities said. The suspects also damaged a $3,000 smartboard and $1,000 laptop, detectives said.

The men are also charged with the June 10 break-in at the high school in which two guitars, valued at nearly $3,000 combined, were stolen. Hattat is also charged in connection with a June 18 attempted burglary at Island Power Sports in Massapequa.

Police returned 10 instruments to the school Tuesday: a saxophone, a clarinet, two keyboards, two acoustic guitars, and four electric guitars. Some instruments belong to the school while others are owned by students.

Authorities are attempting to track down a flute sold to a California individual and other items not yet recovered, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.

Carle Place Superintendent Christine Finn said the theft had been a big blow to the music program.

"It's not just the value of the instruments. It's the sentimental value," she said.

Stein was told by police the suspects had a buyer for his guitar who planned to modify the instrument.

"I'm shaking," Stein said. "I did not think I would ever see it again."

Gem Hattat, 27, of Lindenhurst, was charged in connection with an attempted burglary in Massapequa. The information was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.