CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A touring musician hit a string of bad luck during his Charlotte stop.
Ritch Henderson landed in the hospital following his Dec. 15 show at The Evening Muse after experiencing chest pains. While he was being treated, someone broke into his Toyota 4Runner and stole more than $15,000 worth of instruments and musical equipment, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police report.
“I’ve tried to maintain positivity and know that everything will work out how it’s supposed to, but it was heavy,” said Henderson. “It was a shock for sure.”
The whole ordeal started shortly after the Friday night show at the NoDa venue. Henderson ended up spending two nights in the hospital and had to cancel his next show in Greenville.
“We found out that my heart was in A-Fib, which is not particularly dangerous,” he explained. “It just needs some medicine to get it under control and terrifying if you’ve never experienced it.”
Just as Henderson was released Sunday morning, his bass player noticed the window of his vehicle was smashed and most of their equipment was missing.
Henderson says the crooks took cymbals; drums, including a 1960s vintage Ludwig snare; a limited-edition Fender deluxe telecaster guitar; and an American Standard Precision Bass.
“Honestly, I was in shock,” he said.
The crew stayed at the Clarion Hotel on Woodlawn Road, which is where the break-in occurred. Hotel employees told him they did not have security cameras.
“I obviously spoke with my entertainment lawyer, and he’s talking about liability and where it may fall, because certain establishments need to have a reasonable amount of security to keep that sort of thing from happening,” he said.
A representative from Choice Hotels said that the Clarion location is an independently owned and operated franchise whose owners make decisions regarding security systems.
With support from fans and fellow artists, Henderson is hoping he’ll get his gear back and that his next gig in Charlotte won’t hit such a sour note.
“We’re holding out hope that the investigators assigned to the case will find our stuff, but a fan of ours has already started a GoFundMe which is already at $2,000,” said Henderson.
