A 71-year-old Los Angeles man is in the bizarre position of being charged with a crime after police raided his home and discovered a cache of pilfered LEGO sets. A retailer’s report of multiple thefts spurred the investigation, which ultimately led the LAPD to an unexpected suspect: an elderly man who had a fondness for plastic bricks.
After weeks of investigation, the startling discovery was made. The LAPD started looking into a string of LEGO set thefts after receiving a complaint from a nearby retailer. After following leads and putting the puzzle together, detectives eventually arrived at the door of what appeared to be a typical Los Angeles home. It was anything but ordinary, though, what they discovered within.
They were met with a mound of stolen LEGO. The house was nearly three thousand boxes high. These weren’t your average childhood building blocks; the collection boasted sets ranging from the simple and affordable to the highly coveted and expensive, with individual box values estimated between $20 and a staggering $1,000.
The 39-year-old Blanca Gudino, an alleged accomplice, was also discovered during the investigation. It seems she was involved in the LEGO heist, though specifics about her role are still unknown.
The narrative poses a number of queries. What spurred the elderly person to start this rampant brick-lifting? Was he a shrewd collector, accumulating sets for his own use or to resell? Maybe he thought the rapidly expanding LEGO market offered a rich opportunity. As the case develops, the answers probably will not come soon.
There is no denying that this case brings a sense of absurdity to the realm of crime. Granted, elderly people committing crimes are not unheard of, but stealing so many LEGO sets is a novel angle. Even as the legal process progresses, the picture of a 71-year-old man surrounded by thousands of pilfered LEGO sets is sure to generate discussion and laughter.
The growing popularity of LEGO is also highlighted by this incident. For generations, kids and adults alike have been enthralled with these plastic bricks. Some LEGO sets are highly valued, especially the rare or retired ones. This has led to a thriving collector’s market, which may have unintentionally given this unlikely criminal couple an unexpected target.
We are eager to see how this LEGO theft case turns out as the investigation goes on. Is the elderly man going to reveal his intentions? What will happen to the enormous cache of bricks that were seized? There is no doubt about it: this case will spark discussion and serve as a reminder that crimes can take many different forms and occasionally involve mounds of vibrant plastic bricks.