Information posted on the social networking Web site MySpace led police to two Massachusetts men who allegedly stole up to $50,000 in guitars from music stores in Salem and Manchester.

Justin Ray and David Rousseau, both 20, of Lowell, Mass., placed themselves into custody at about 1:15 p.m on Thursday, Aug. 14, and were held on $2,500 cash bail.

Police issued warrants for their arrest the day before, charging them with felony theft. At that time, both men were contacted by police, but refused to cooperate with the authorities.

Police said the duo allegedly stole 14 guitars from Daddy’s Junky Music stores at Salem and Manchester locations. Using an empty guitar case, the men would allegedly enter the store and select a guitar to play in an acoustic room. Before leaving, they would place the guitar in the case and walk out of the store with the merchandise.

The thefts allegedly occurred over several months. Eleven guitars were stolen from the Manchester location at 1279 Willow St. Three more guitars – valued at $5,000 according to police – were taken from the store at 373 South Broadway in Salem.

Police do not believe there was anyone else involved in the crimes.

According to Salem police Capt. Shawn Patten, the two men would play the instruments before pawning them. Some of the guitars have been recovered. An anonymous tip with information taken from a MySpace page helped detectives identify the suspects.

“These idiots posted some information on their MySpace pages,” said Patten. “Hopefully they’re better musicians than they are crooks.”

The investigation was a joint effort between the Salem, Manchester and Lowell police departments.