[naviga:img class="img-responsive" alt="Brian Winters" src="/Assets/news2015/0913DayWinters.JPG"/]

Brian Winters

Old Lyme — A 19-year-old man is headed to court Thursday after he allegedly stole four flutes from the Lyme-Old Lyme High School and pawned them in New London, according to town police.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Officer Wayne Collins, the school’s music teacher reported May 3 that one flute — a Yamaha piccolo flute valued at $1,300 — had been stolen.

In the affidavit, Collins said he and another officer learned the flute had been pawned at Yankee Peddler & Pawn in New London.

When they traveled to the State Street shop to recover the flute, officers learned from employees that the man who pawned the Yamaha piccolo had pawned three other flutes. According to the affidavit, those flutes were worth about $1,785 total and also were missing from the high school.

The instruments have since been returned.

Officers obtained a record of the May 3 transaction and learned a man named Brian W. Winters had sold the items, the affidavit states. The affidavit refers to Winters as a student, but it's unclear if he is a current or former student of the school.

Police obtained a warrant for the arrest of Winters, who lives at 101 Whippoorwill Road. He turned himself in to state police at Troop F on Aug. 25 and is facing a charge of third-degree larceny.

Released on a $3,500 bond, he is due in New London Superior Court on Thursday.