US EditionCalifornia Man Accused of Using Pasta to Replace Stolen Legos
- On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, Irvine police arrested 28-year-old Jarrelle Augustine of Paramount, California, for grand theft, alleging he orchestrated a scheme at Target stores involving swapping Lego sets for bags of dry pasta to secure fraudulent refunds.
- Investigators claim the suspect used durum wheat semolina pasta to mimic the weight and sound of bricks when boxes were shaken, a deception the Irvine Police Department called a "pasta-tively terrible plan" that "didn't hold together."
- Target reported at least 70 thefts across the United States allegedly tied to Augustine, resulting in approximately $34,000 in losses, with police recovering Star Wars and Marvel sets from his apartment.
- Officer Ziggy Azarcon of the Irvine Police Department confirmed the suspect was booked into the Orange County Jail and subsequently released, while authorities found trash bags filled with Lego pieces during a search.
- Lego theft remains a rising trend due to the products' small size and high resale value; authorities recently broke up a separate ring involving the cargo theft of $1 million in merchandise.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Man charged in Lego theft scheme of replacing pieces with pasta, police say
A California man cooked up a scheme that called for buying thousands of dollars worth of Lego kits, replacing Lego pieces and minifigures with bags of uncooked pasta, and returning the sets to stores for refunds, police said Thursday. The post Man charged in Lego theft scheme of replacing pieces with pasta, police say appeared first on Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
3 People Under Arrest In $1M California Lego Heist, Police Say - American Liberty News
Categories: Arms•Crime•Law Enforcement Tags: Arms, California, Crime, Law Enforcement, Lego, Robbery Three people are under arrest Wednesday after allegedly stealing two truck trailers in California that contained pricey Lego products. By Olivia Cohen for BorderReport Jose Lopez, 37, of San Bernardino, Ruben Lopez Flores, 25, of Los Angeles and Freddy Hernandez Polinar, (35) of Chino were taken into custody after deputies from the Kern County …
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