Country Singer Halts EBay Sale

An Internet auction of an uncirculated Merle Haggard cassette has been halted after the country music star won a court order claiming the tape was stolen from his tour bus.

A Dallas newspaper reports Kathy Schroeder, a Texas concert promoter and bed-and-breakfast operator, offered the cassette for $325,000 on eBay. The tape was removed from the auction yesterday.

A judge has ordered a May 13th hearing on the case. Haggard´s lawyers say they plan to turn the case over to law enforcement for prosecution on theft or other charges. But the first priority was to halt possible proliferation of “bootleg” copies.

Reached at his California home, Haggard says, “The reason I am pursuing it is because this is obviously the nightmare we all fear. I had to defend myself. What´s on the tape is a rough mix of an ongoing project. It´s like she kidnapped my children.”