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 The violin, which was made in 1715 and had an appraised value of
$5 million for insurance purposes, was recovered late Wednesday from
a Milwaukee residence, where it had been stored in a suitcase in the
attic, police said.
Salah Jones, 41, and Universal Knowledge Allah, 36, were charged
with felony robbery and Allah was also charged with marijuana
possession. A 32-year-old woman arrested in connection with the
crime, has not been charged.
Early last week, the thieves took the violin after incapacitating
concert musician Frank Almond with a stun gun as he left a concert
in suburban Milwaukee, authorities said.
Jones told a witness that stealing a Stradivarius violin "was his
dream theft" because of its potential value and it could be
"snatched from the hands of a musician as they walk down the
street," the criminal complaint said.
The complaint said Jones had Allah buy the Taser for him last summer
because he did not have a permit for it.
A few months later, Jones told Allah that he needed the Taser to
acquire an instrument that was rare and one of a kind, the complaint
said. Before the theft, Allah retrieved the Taser from a safe, it
said.
After his arrest on Monday, Jones told authorities they could find
the violin in a black suitcase in an attic in a residence on the
city's south side, according to the complaint.
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The so-called Lipinski Stradivarius had been on loan indefinitely to
Almond from a private owner. It is one of roughly 600 violins,
violas and cellos still in existence that were built by the famed
Italian artisan Antonio Stradivari.
Almond said he plans to play the violin on Monday during a
performance in suburban Milwaukee.
"We can now celebrate the wonderful resolution of this most recent
chapter in the instrument's storied life," Almond said in a
statement posted on the website of the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center
for the Arts, where he is scheduled to play.
Bond was set at $10,000 for Jones and at $500 for Allah during
appearances Friday afternoon in Milwaukee County District Court.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; editing by Scott Malone, Gunna
Dickson and Ken Wills)
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