Not so long after I posted about the dude stealing my hat, I
decided that enough was enough.  I
decided to report him to the law and hope that with the fuzz involved my guitar
and hat might find their way home.  I had
left three weeks since the guitar was ‘borrowed’ for an hour and never
returned, reason enough I think to report a crime.

During that time I had been to Canterbury several times and spoken to all the homless guys I knew to see if they could help me.  They couldn't.

I telephoned the Kent Police central call centre and
reported it as a 'non-urgent incident' and was given an incident number.

The on waking the following morning, what should I find on
my door mat but a letter from Elmley Prison. 
A letter from the guitar carrying, hat wearing thief himself!  Razor had been nicked and sent to jail.

In the letter Razor spoke about his need for some reading
glasses (accounting for his terrible scrawl), the fact that my guitar is in
safe hands and asked that I check his email. 
In his letter he does not mention the hat!

For a guy who I have only met a few times, and as someone who
has had the audacity to steal from me under my nose.  He has some serious gall.   

The following a just a few quotes from his four page letter.

“Now hear this, ***** **** is innocent!”

“Listen up good!”

“It would be beyond fab if you could print out the last 20
emails I have and bring ‘em in”

“They love me in here! Why wouldn’t they?  Hope to see you next week!”

Ok, so I think about the situation.  I have less that three weeks till the
off.  My guitar and hat are gone and if I
comply with his requests, there is some slim chance I might get either or both
back.

Having not done this sort of thing before, I look on the
internet to see if there are processes to visit a prisoner.  I get through to the visitor centre.  The first question I am asked is “Prisoner
reference please”.

I don’t have a prisoner reference.  I suspect that I don’t even have his real
name.  They can’t help.

I put the phone down and reflect on how close I could have
come to meeting the hat thief.

The following day at about 6pm, I received a call from a PC
who was investigating the incident.  I
told him about the letter and my wanting to visit Razor in the nick.  I explain that I am having real trouble since
I do not have his prisoner number or real name.

The PC said, hold on, and seconds later was reading out to
me “K******h H*********l H**7”

I could not believe my luck. 
I had the name, number and prison. 
I would try the visitors centre again.

The following morning I called the visitors centre which was
engaged.  I tried throughout the day and
constantly it was busy.  I tried again
the next day, and the next, and the next.

Finally I decided to write to Razor.

I thought I should include a sweetener so I popped into
Superdrug this morning to buy the reading glasses Razor requested.   For a host of irrelevant reasons I explained
to the checkout that I was buying them for a guy who stole my guitar and
hat.  The woman asked if it was a local
man. I said Razors name.  Immediatly she
said that she knew his name and that in the staff room there is a picture of
him hanging up for all the staff to see. 

He is a confidence
trickster who will have his hair cut and then refuse to pay, or eat in a
restaurant and walk out before paying. 
Kent Police have in fact gone to a host of businesses in the area and
warned them and this guy.  I could not
help but reflect on the fact that I was one guitar and one hat down. No one had
warned me.  

I included in with my letter the set of reading glasses, and
encouraged him to try and arrange my visit from his end.

I posted the letter this afternoon.  I really hope that this guy is telling the
truth and that my guitar is in safe hands. 
I also hope that he knows there whereabouts of my hat.

We’ll see.