SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (ABC4 News) – A local tattoo artist is under fire, suspected of stealing thousands of dollars of equipment from a tattoo supply store. In an usual twist, the suspect pretended he had nothing to do with it and helped spread the word of the crimes on social media to help find the person responsible.
Allen Record is the Co-Owner of 5th Avenue Studio Supply in South Salt Lake. He spoke with ABC4 News about the alleged burglary at his shop.
He said around 1:00 a.m. Sunday, two men broke into the tattoo supply store and made off with high-end equipment.
“Tattoo machines ranging from a low of $200 – $600 dollars per machine,” Record explained.
According to Record, It only took the suspected thieves a matter of minutes to make off with $20,000 worth of equipment. He says the items stolen are sold exclusively to tattoo artists.
“This was, unfortunately, perpetrated by a tattooer. He knew exactly what machines he wanted,” Record said.
After reviewing the surveillance video, Record realized one of the suspects, the tattoo artist mentioned above, has purchased items from the shop before. As a matter of fact, Record said the two suspects were in his shop the day before.
Record told ABC4’s Brittany Johnson, that the tattoo artist even pretended he wasn’t involved and took to social media to share surveillance video of the crime to help Record track down the criminals.
His plan backfired.
Word traveled fast amongst the tattoo community that one of their own was probably responsible for the robbery.
Then Record realized a clear image of the suspects from when they were in the tattoo supply store the day prior to the robbery.
Record said the tattoo artist realized people knew it was him and he turned himself in. The other man seen in the video and the getaway driver are still outstanding.
A GoFundMe page has been setup to help Record get back on his feet. If you’d like to help donate, click here.
