Police identified the arrested man as Daryl Emmette Washington, 51, of Los Angeles, a private security guard at The Culver Studios lot.

Police Chief Don Pedersen said the break in the case came when the suspect pawned one of the guitars at a Hollywood pawn shop for $250.

“Mr. Petty would have joined us, but he’s preparing for a concert in Denver,” said Pedersen, who described the stolen guitars as collectively worth $100,000.

A message seeking comment from the band’s publicist, Jim Merlis, was not immediately returned.

The instruments were reported stolen last Thursday from The Culver Studios, a sprawling complex of soundstages west of downtown Los Angeles where Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had been rehearsing for an upcoming tour.

The instruments were Petty’s blond 1967 maple 12-string Rickenbacker and his Gibson SGTVJunior, Mike Campbell’s blue Dusenberg, Ron Blair’s Fender Broadcaster and Scott Thurston’s 1967 Epiphone Sheridan.

On its website, the band offered a “no questions asked” $7,500 reward for information leading to the return of the instruments.

Their return comes as the band prepared to kick off their tour Wednesday in Broomfield, Colo.