{"id":294745,"date":"2026-05-01T10:20:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/294745\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T10:20:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:20:15","slug":"los-angeles-based-bands-u-haul-packed-with-instruments-stolen-before-tour-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/294745\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles-based band&#8217;s U-Haul packed with instruments stolen before tour"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Brief<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A Los Angeles-based band, Moonchild, had a rental truck with all its instruments and touring gear stolen in Oakland, forcing multiple show cancellations across California.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Surveillance video shows suspects stealing the 20-foot U-Haul; tracking devices inside were later found discarded around the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The band faces significant financial losses not fully covered by insurance and has launched a GoFundMe while police investigate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A band scheduled to perform across California is reeling after thieves in <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ktvu.com\/tag\/us\/ca\/alameda-county\/oakland\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Oakland;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Oakland <\/a>stole a rental truck with their instruments and equipment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;As far as what was in the U-Haul, it was everything for our touring party,&#8221; said Andria Mattson of Moonchild, a Los Angeles-based neo-soul jazz band. &#8220;It was our musical instruments, our stage design, lighting gear, and audio gear that we\u2019ve been renting.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Shows canceled across state<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Big picture view<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ktvu.com\/tag\/crime-publicsafety\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:theft;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">theft <\/a>forced the band to cancel and reschedule performances in Berkeley, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;To go through something like this and lose everything, it\u2019s unimaginable,&#8221; Mattson said.<\/p>\n<p>Theft caught on camera<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">What we know<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The incident occurred in a parking lot outside the Executive Inn and Suites and a neighboring Best Western along Oakland\u2019s waterfront on Embarcadero.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Surveillance video shows the band\u2019s 20-foot U-Haul parked in a stall. A sedan pulls up and backs alongside the truck. A person exits the passenger side, and shortly after, the U-Haul\u2019s driver\u2019s door opens and its lights turn on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Moments later, the sedan drives off, followed by the U-Haul.<\/p>\n<p>AirTags discarded<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dig deeper<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mattson said she quickly realized something was wrong when tracking devices showed unusual movement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;A few of my AirTags were in radically different locations in Oakland,&#8221; she said. &#8220;All the AirTags were found in bushes, disposed of.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rare cancellation<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The band, which has previously toured in Oakland, said they were aware of the risks of leaving valuables in cars. Still, they weren&#8217;t prepared for the theft of an entire truck.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Except during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group had never canceled a show until now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Some of these instruments we lost, we\u2019ve had them for years. It\u2019s a symbiotic relationship,&#8221; Mattson said. &#8220;It\u2019s not something you can replace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Investigation underway<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">What&#8217;s next<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Oakland police are investigating the theft, which occurred in an area known for such crimes.&#8221;Hopefully our story can serve as a warning to other bands touring in the area to be on high alert,&#8221; Mattson said. &#8220;No musician or band should ever have to go through anything this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The band said it has insurance, but the coverage won&#8217;t fully cover the loss. The band has started a <a data-yga=\"{\" ylinkelement=\"\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-moonchild-after-theft\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:GoFundMe campaign;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">GoFundMe campaign<\/a> to help with recovery efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com\/henrykleefan<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Source<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">KTVU reporting, Oakland police<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief A Los Angeles-based band, Moonchild, had a rental truck with all its instruments and touring gear&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294746,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[125288,125289,125290,48,52,51,47,50,49,143,2452,125291,1388,17988],"class_list":["post-294745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-andria-mattson","tag-instruments","tag-jazz-band","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-police","tag-rental-truck","tag-surveillance-video","tag-u-haul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}