Phillip Phillips and his father at their Georgia pawn shop [photo: Fox]Poor Phillip Phillips has had a really bad week. First, last Wednesday, the Season 11 "American Idol" winner underwent a six-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the enormous kidney stones that had tortured him throughout his "Idol" run. And just a few days later, while he was recuperating from his surgery in California, the Phillips family's famous pawn shop in Albany, Georgia, was burglarized.
According to multiple reports, Albany Sporting Goods & Pawn--which was memorably featured in both Phillip's audition and homecoming "Idol" episodes--was ransacked sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, with thieves running off with roughly $4,000 worth of merchandise (including jewelry, guns, and television sets) and not only the $110 that was in the cash register, but the actual cash register itself.
This appears to be a premeditated job, since TMZ reports that the store's power and phone lines were cut prior to the burglary, and a backhoe hotwired and stolen from a nearby Albany Water Gas & Light job site was used to smash open the store's back door. Twenty-five police squad cars were reportedly dispatched to the crime scene, but no arrests were made. As of this writing, there are no suspects.
Albany Sporting Goods & Pawn actually went up for sale through Willcox Realty last month, 10 days before the "American Idol" finale. No word on whether this new damage to the property will affect its asking price. Phillip's father, Don Phillips, had considered selling it for $200,000 before this year's "Idol" season.
Fortunately, no one was at the store at the time of the incident and no one was hurt. The Phillips family is believed to be with Phillip in Los Angeles, helping him with his post-surgery recovery. Speaking of that, in happier P-Squared news, the Idol--who recently set a new sales record for an "Idol" coronation song, when "Home" sold 278,000 digital copies in its first week--is expected to be well in time to make this summer's 45-date Idols Live Tour, which kicks off July 6 in Detroit. Phillip recently tweeted, "Just want to tell everyone thank you for the concerns and prayers, it means a lot to my family and I. Im just resting and healing."
Phillip has yet to address his family shop's burglary on Twitter. A rep for 19 Entertainment had no comment.
Here's wishing Phillip good health--and justice for his family!
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