Steve Osburn, owner of Oz's Music, shows where the stolen saxophone sat on the night of the break-in.

Danny Shaw | Intern

Improbable as it seems, that's what happened the night of Oct. 27 outside Oz's Music on Packard Street in Ann Arbor.

Osburn said he arrived at his shop to find his display window broken and glass spread across the sidewalk.

“I immediately called the police because I thought maybe there might be somebody still in there,” Osburn said. “It wasn’t registering with me at the time that the saxophone that sat in the front window was missing.”

After cleaning up the glass and boarding up the window, Osburn went to Fraser’s Pub across the street to see if anyone saw anything. He didn’t find any witnesses, but when he left, a strange thing happened.

“As soon as I hit the sidewalk in front of Fraser’s, I hear ‘Hey buddy! Want to buy a saxophone?’” Osburn said. “This was within two hours of the actual break-in, and I’m being asked if I want to buy my horn back.”

Osburn said the man told him the instrument was brand new and he would sell it for $75, and that it was just around the corner at his house. It was at this point Osburn recognized the man.

“That same guy was out here the night before panhandling me and my customers,” he said.

Osburn said he told the man he was interested in buying the saxophone, and followed him across the street to see where he lived.

“I’m trying to walk behind him, I pull out my phone and dial 911,” Osburn said. “I’m trying to talk to him and 911 at the same time without having him know about it. So I say, ‘You mean you want to sell me a saxophone at two in the morning across from the old Hollywood Video on Packard?’ Then I kept the phone in my pocket and I didn’t turn it off, figuring if something weird happens, they can track it or something.”

When Osburn saw the house, he told the man he just needed to get some cash from his car. He walked back to Fraser’s and called 911 again.

When the police arrived at Fraser’s, Osburn said they asked him to point out the house so they could confront the instrument peddler. Osburn started to point out the house, then thought if the man saw the police, he might ditch the saxophone and they would lose their chance to catch him, along with the $500 instrument.

Instead, Osburn proposed continuing with the charade so the police could catch him red-handed.

Ann Arbor Police Chief Barnett Jones said the incident might be ironic and humorous, but it could have been dangerous.

“I wouldn’t advise all citizens to take it to the extent that he did, but it had a happy ending,” Jones said. “I mean here comes the bad guy, ‘Want to buy a saxophone?’ Who would have thought it? Sometimes facts are stranger than fiction.”

After Osburn got some money, he headed back toward the house. The man emerged from the front door with a saxophone-shaped garbage bag under his arm.

The police report stated the suspect, identified as 57-year-old Lorenza Modock of Ann Arbor, saw the police officers just before making contact with Osburn and threw the bag into some bushes and started to run. He was apprehended by the police and charged with a misdemeanor of possessing stolen property. Modock’s pretrial hearing is set for March 15.

Osburn said it was a great feeling to get his instrument back.

“I got a few high-fives when I went back into Fraser’s,” he said, laughing. “It was one of my bigger adrenaline rushes that night.”

Danny Shaw is an intern for AnnArbor.com. Have a neighborhood news tip? Email the community team at community@annarbor.com.