A recent graduate of PK Yonge Developmental Research School was arrested on Thursday for stealing and pawning a school saxophone, University Police said.
Roberto Chichi Barrio, 19, stole a Yamaha Yas 875 saxophone from the PK Yonge band room on March 10, according to an arrest report. Barrio then pawned the instrument at an Oaks Pawn and Jewelry, police said.
Barrio was a member of the band before he graduated in 2017, said Carrie Giger, the school’s principal.
Giger said the band director opened the instrument’s case for the first time since spring of last year this week and noticed a different instrument.
“The (Yamaha Yas 875) saxophone, which was a really nice instrument, had been replaced with a not-so-nice one,” Giger said.
The PK Yonge Developmental Research School, which is a department in UF's College of Education, notified police about the stolen saxophone on Tuesday, according to the report. Police arrested Barrio two days later in the band room.
After his arrest, Barrio told police he stole and pawned the saxophone, according to the report.
Barrio was arrested on charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property and was taken to the Alachua County Jail, where he was released on his own recognizance Friday afternoon.
He could not be reached for comment.
Contact Robert Lewis at rlewis@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @Lewis__Robert.
Roberto Chichi Barrio
