School of Rock Guitarist Joey Gaydos Jr. Arrested For Stealing Guitars

Joey Gaydos Jr., the young actor who portrayed the child guitar prodigy Zack ‘Zack Attack’ Mooney in Richard Linklater’s School of Rock, has been arrested and charged with the theft of three guitars worth over $3,000 over five weeks.

The 28-year-old faces open theft and shoplifting cases in the Floridian counties of Sarasota, Venice, and North Port.

His spree began on the 31st of January, when a music store owner in Sarasota allowed Gaydos to play an $800 Les Paul Epiphone Prophecy, under the impetus that he was looking to purchase one. A few minutes later, as the store owner was otherwise engaged, he ran out the store with the guitar.

On February the 7th, he was caught on camera at Troll Music in Venice, Florida, stealing another guitar. On February 11th he was caught, following the theft of a $1,900 guitar from the Sam Ash Music Store in North Port. He reportedly told the arresting officer “I need to be arrested. I stole the guitar.”

Gaydos blamed the thefts on his crippling drug addiction, and is currently facing two counts of grand theft and one count of shoplifting.