Crime
California Man Allegedly Stole Lego Sets, Returned Boxes to Target With Dried Pasta Inside
California man Jarrelle Augustine allegedly stole 70 Lego sets worth $34,000 and returned them to Target stuffed with dried pasta to match the weight before Irvine police caught him.
A California crook is accused of swiping Lego sets, then returning the boxes to Target for a refund after swapping the valuable toy figures inside for dried pasta to mimic the original weight!
According to Fox News Digital, the scheme hit a brick wall when Irvine Police Department detectives used surveillance video to identify a suspect, Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, Calif.
The video released by police appears to show Augustine picking up Lego sets from store shelves and then walking out without paying. And his illicit payday wasn’t child’s play — cops link him to around 70 thefts worth about $34,000, per the outlet.
While a mini set starts around $5, prices quickly soar into the three, four and five figures, with collectible and rare sets costing $15,000 and more, MoneyWise reported.
Augustine was arrested, charged with grand theft and booked into the Orange County Jail. He has since been released, The New York Times reported, citing jail records.
“If your master plan involves swapping LEGOs for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente,” Irvine Police wrote in a Facebook post.
They added that detectives “snapped into action” to end what they called a “pasta-tively terrible plan.”
Social media wits chimed in. “Looks like it’s not just the pasta that’s going to be in… hot water,” joked a user on Facebook, while another mused, “Dude probably thought that he was saucy … right up until he got boiled.”
Others cracked, “Wonder if he can build a Lego jail cell,” and “Imagine opening the Millennium Falcon to find penne pasta!”
