- That’s a whole heaping pile of plastic bricks.
When you hear of somebody stealing toys, you might be tempted to think the culprit is a mischievous child. Increasingly, however, the toy thieves are grown adults looking to cater to shady collectors.
In the most recent case, we have a man who stole lots and lots of Lego.
California resident Jarrelle Augustine stands accused of a spree of thefts targeting toy shelves at department stores. He was specifically after Lego sets, which he stole with the help of his accomplice — pasta.
Augustine allegedly swapped the boxes’ contents with dry pasta noodles to simulate that Lego brick rattle when shaken. He’d then return the boxes to the stores to get his money back before trafficking the pilfered bricks for extra profit.
After dozens of thefts, however, the stores and cops eventually caught up to Augustine. He was arrested in mid-April, accused of stealing nearly $35,000 worth of Lego.
The Pasta Trick
The strange Lego thefts were detailed in a recent social media post by the Irvine Police Department (IPD) in California. It seems the cops found the case hilarious, as their statement is absolutely laden with pasta puns.
They weren’t impressed with Augustine’s modus operandi, either. The IPD called it a “pasta-tively terrible plan.”
In total, Augustine is suspected of carrying out at least 70 thefts. Maybe more. He appears to have had a preference, as all crimes happened at Target stores.
His scheme remained consistent. He would purchase a set of Lego, take it home, remove the contents, and then return the box to get his money back.
In some cases, he would simply return the empty box and nobody cared. However, somebody must’ve at some point asked some uncomfortable questions because Augustine altered his plan slightly.
After emptying the Lego boxes, he would fill them with something that rattled as Lego bricks do. In most cases, the IPD said his choice of filler was dry pasta.
“We are talking about durum wheat semolina pasta,” the cops clarified.
Overall, Augustine is suspected of stealing more than $34,000 in Lego sets. But the theft itself wasn’t how he made his money.
After getting his payment back, Augustine would then sell the rare minifigures and valuable bricks online to generate profit. It was a foolproof plan, until it wasn’t.
A Foiled Plan
Eventually, Target figured out (perhaps through angry returns and complaints about pasta) that someone was stealing Lego. The stores contacted the police and they began an extensive surveillance campaign.
Soon enough, the cops had their eyes on Augustine.
“Like most bad builds, this one didn’t hold together. IPD detectives snapped into action, conducted surveillance, and identified the suspect,” the IPD quipped.
Reviewing store surveillance footage placed Augustine in many of the Target stores that complained about theft. The video showed him purchasing Lego sets and returning them at a later date.
Now, Augustine has been arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail. He’s facing charges of grand theft.
“If your master plan involves swapping Legos for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente,” the IPD cautioned other potential toy thieves.
Why Are Legos So Expensive?
But hold on just for a hot minute. Let’s go back to those numbers about stolen Lego sets and their value.
For now, Augustine is suspected of 70 crimes, with a total stolen monetary value of $34,000 (more or less). Although these numbers may change as the investigation progresses, that puts the average per set price at $485.
Have you ever wondered why Legos are so expensive these days?
First of all, there are the production, shipping, and other related manufacturing costs. Also, if you’ve paid attention to the plastic Lego uses, it’s high quality in the sense that it’s difficult to get the bricks to deform and wear out.
Case in point: as a kid, I played with Legos that my parents had as children, which were decades old at that point. Even today, you could give Lego that your parents owned to your kid, and they would be perfectly compatible with modern parts.
Second, there’s the lack of meaningful competition. Although many companies now manufacture similar building block sets, the materials and designs usually don’t live up to the Lego standard. I’m not saying that to toot Lego’s horn — they just aren’t as good.
But moving on from the bricks themselves, have you noticed that the most popular Lego sets aren’t just Lego anymore? They’re usually connected to one popular media franchise or another, like Star Wars, Harry Potter, or Jurassic Park. Licensing the IP rights doesn’t come cheap, which adds to the cost.
Finally, there’s the simple fact that people seem willing to pay whatever the Lego company asks for. Yet, some collectors are obviously getting priced out, since they’re turning to the black market.
And that’s where thieves like Augustine come in.
Interested in more toy theft? Check out the story of a man who stole $10,000 worth of trading cards using taco seasoning.