Suspect Arrested in Killing of Famed Luthier Taku Sakashta

Joshua Rhea Begley, a career criminal, has been arrested and charged with suspicion of murder, robbery and evading police.

Famed Luthier Taku Sakashta, an artist and craftsman known as a Buddhist man of peace, was killed simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Derek Moore has the whole sad story here: The Press Democrat

From Taku’s website:

“Taku Sakashta’s philosophy on his guitars are that they are an extension of the musician’s personality and soul. Each musician demands different instruments because each has different talents, motivations, and preferences – from sonic, aesthetic, and tactile points of view. Taku realizes the importance of past traditions in guitar building, and has used this as a foundation to build his forward-looking instruments for the consummate performer looking for personalization without compromise. And he does this while still retaining the superior advantages of past, traditional designs and features.”

http://sakashtaguitars.com

The thing about Luthiers… They live as long as the sound of their guitars can last in our memories.

May the soil lie lightly upon you and your music ring ever in our ears..

Lt. Jeff Taylor said witnesses provided descriptions of a suspect that helped link Begley to the slaying, leading police to place him under surveillance on Sunday afternoon.

But Taylor declined to be more specific on a possible motive for the killing, saying such information is “key to how these two men are connected.”

“We don’t want to hurt our investigation by putting out our theory so that a person involved (in the crime) could change that to hide things,” Taylor said.

However, the robbery allegation suggests that whoever killed Sakashta took something from him.

Taylor said police will release more information once an autopsy on Sakashta’s body is completed Tuesday.

The slaying has devastated Sakashta’s family, according to friends. Kazuko, the guitar maker’s wife, went to the airport on Saturday to pick up his mother, who flew in from Japan.

Kazuko was planning to go to the coroner’s office today to help identify her husband’s body.

“She hasn’t seen him yet,” said Kenichi Tominaga, owner of Hana Japanese restaurant in Rohnert Park. “She’s really nervous about everything.”

Kazuko went to her husband’s shop early Friday morning to look for him when he failed to come home the previous night. After she reported him missing, police found the body in a landscaped median strip near the shop, located in an industrial area on Martin Avenue on the city’s west side.

Sakashta’s body was about 10 feet from the bumper of his prized Nissan 350Z sports car. Numerous yellow evidence markers lay around the car during the investigation of the crime scene, but police say it does not appear the car was tampered with.

Sakashta’s friends, however, say the car seems the only logical reason why anyone would target the man.

“The only thing I can think of is that someone was messing with his car,” said Bill Krinard, who is a partner in a boutique guitar amplification company on Martin Avenue.

Krinard and his partner in Two-Rock Guitar Amplification, Joe Mloganoski, said Sakashta never locked his doors.

“Taku was known for just being there all hours and leaving his door unlocked,” sometimes through the night, Mloganoski said.

Mloganoski called him “a super sweet guy.”

“It’s just tragic,” he said. “Is it just a random act? Is there something going on around there? Am I going to be thinking about that now?”

“The whole world will suffer a little bit,” said Krinard. “Definitely some of the finest guitars in the world.”

Manuel Begley of Windsor said he learned of his grandson’s arrest on Monday from Begley’s father, who lives in Rohnert Park.

“I’m pretty upset about it right now,” he said.

He said his grandson stored some of his belongings at the Windsor home and still has his mail delivered there after using the address during one of his stints in jail.

But aside from the occasions when the younger Begley would stop in to get mail or help with yard work, his grandfather said he doesn’t know much about where he spends his time.

“I’ve never talked to him about his habits after he leaves here. I don’t know who his friends are. I don’t know who he’s seeing,” Manuel Begley said.

Joshua Begley had repeated run-ins with law enforcement agencies in the North Bay over the past decade.

Just last Monday, Begley was arrested after his former girlfriend notified Petaluma police that he had arrived at her home in violation of an emergency protective order.

As Begley was being walked to a patrol car, he broke free from the officer and ran into a nearby landscaping supply yard and hid. He evaded officers until a police dog found him without his handcuffs.

Begley was arrested again. Officers discovered he’d gotten the handcuffs off by using the key, which he’d hidden in his mouth before the initial arrest, police said.

In December 2005, Begley was involved in a dramatic chase with sheriff’s deputies from Windsor to Larkfield that didn’t end until Begley’s arrest two days later after he was found hiding in a friend’s house.

During the incident, Begley punched a sheriff’s deputy and stole three cars, including a mini-van he rammed through a wood barricade. Then 25, Begley was described as being a transient.

Taylor said Begley was sentenced to state prison in 2006 in connection with that case, which included Begley being convicted of battery on a peace officer.

Taylor said Begley’s criminal record in Sonoma County dates back to 1999, when he was arrested in Rohnert Park for having illegal weapons, and that he served time in jail in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.

Asked why Begley was not in custody prior to Thursday given the cases pending against him, Taylor said it is at the judge’s discretion to set bail amounts.

“Nothing there was a red flag that he (Begley) was going to do what he did,” Taylor said in reference to Sakashta’s killing. “It’s not like he was convicted or charged with any other homicide.”

Staff Writer Mary Callahan contributed to this story.