Volusia County

Deputies: Volusia man charges $17K worth of guitars, music equipment on elderly woman’s bank card

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Volusia County deputies are searching for a man whom they said used a 78-year-old woman’s bank card to go on a spending spree.

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Investigators said Mystery Demarest spent nearly $17,000 of the woman’s money on 11 guitars, musical equipment, airfare, and a hotel room.

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Deputies said the woman allowed Demarest to move into her home in 2019 to help her out while she was caring for her husband and let him use her bank card for household shopping.

Photos: Volusia man charges $17K worth of guitars, music equipment on elderly woman’s bank card

Demarest told the victim his girlfriend was responsible for the spending, and said he’d return everything for a refund, deputies said.

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Detectives found many of the items he bought in a storage unit in DeLand.

Deputies searched the storage unit and found 11 Gibson Les Paul guitars, two Marshall reverb boards, seven large speakers, a drum set and several music stands.

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Deputies are still looking for Demarest, who may be in the Raleigh, North Carolina area.

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