Latest news with #SasquatchBricks
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
$10,000 worth of stolen Lego bricks recovered via search warrant alongside stolen guns and drugs
This story was originally published on Pierce County sheriff's deputies used a search warrant to uncover approximately $10,000 worth of stolen Legos within a storage unit. Sasquatch Bricks toy store in University Place was victim to a robbery Feb. 13. The crime took place during off-hours, with the owner, Scott Nelson, learning about the crime through his security system. When Nelson called the police, they said they had already been notified. The suspect allegedly backed a U-haul to the front door of the store in order to steal $10,000 worth of Legos. 'Thankfully, our neighbor upstairs, when the thief backed up with a U-Haul, they ran into our store sign that was just hanging outside the front door, which promptly woke them up. And they were like, 'Well, this is a little unusual for just being about five o'clock in the morning,'' Nelson told 'The Jason Rantz Show' on KTTH. The case went cold until Thursday when investigators served a search warrant on a storage unit. Within the unit, the suspect, the stolen legos, stolen guns, and drugs were discovered, according to Pierce County Deputy Carly Cappetto. Nelson acknowledged that he was, in some ways, lucky that this was the first time his store had been broken into. He chalked up this incident to the recent surge in retail theft plaguing the region. 'I don't know if it's political or not, but when these thieves or retail theft rings know that there's not going to be a whole lot of consequences involved with it, you know, they'll continue to do it,' he said. He was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
‘A huge market for it': Pierce County Lego shop burglary highlights black market for prized toys
A Pierce County Lego shop, which was recently burglarized, is highlighting the black market for the prized toys. Scott Nelson, the owner of Sasquatch Bricks, located in University Place, said two thieves pried open his store's front entrance and dashed away with nearly $10,000 worth of Lego sets last Thursday at about 4:45 a.m. The thieves loaded up a U-Haul truck and got away in less than five minutes, he said. 'It just felt like somebody just kicked you in the stomach,' the owner said. 'They knew exactly what they were doing and what they were after.' One of the stolen sets was a Star Wars Millennium Falcon worth nearly $1,000. The recent burglary comes after a string of Lego-related crimes across Southern California last year where authorities arrested four people after finding nearly $300,000 worth of stolen Legos. They'd allegedly taken sets from retailers including Target and stored the goods at stash houses in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Months after the incident, Los Angeles police had broken up another alleged Lego theft ring, arresting two people and seizing nearly 3,000 boxes of Legos kept at a property in Long Beach. Nelson said this trend will continue as collectible Lego sets consistently rise in value. 'The hobby has steadily increased over the past 10,15 years in value. Not everyone can afford a $1,000 Lego set. There's crimes of opportunities for these thieves. They think it's quick and easy cash,' he told KIRO 7 News. 'Prices keep soaring. They're not going to come down.' Nelson said the recent burglary has forced him to upgrade his security systems and safety measures, including installing bars on his shop's windows and doors. He is also planning to remove his high-end Lego sets from the store, but will still leave the boxes out for customers. 'Unfortunately, high impact, high dollar like these sets on our wall will come down. We'll put empty boxes up there,' he said. KIRO 7 News reached out to the University Police Department to get more details about the investigation and any possible trends for Lego-related crimes. We're still waiting to hear back.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Yahoo
$10K in merchandise stolen from Pierce County LEGO shop. Owner monitors resell market
LEGO sets with an estimated value of nearly $10,000 remain missing following a recent University Place store heist. The retailer is asking others to be on the lookout in resell markets for the stolen goods. Sasquatch Bricks, 7902 27th St. W., was targeted in a burglary that took only a few minutes early Thursday. Cellphone footage shot from an apartment nearby showed a U-Haul truck backed up to the store and being quickly loaded by the burglars. The store took to Facebook on Feb. 13 to alert the public of the missing items and share its information with other LEGO vendors. Sets lost included Disney Castle, NINJAGO City Gardens, Millenium Falcon and more, according to the Facebook post. Scott Nelson, owner of the store, told The News Tribune on Monday there had not been a break in the case. 'The sets haven't popped up in any other LEGO resell stores,' Nelson wrote via Facebook Messenger. 'We have a phone tree, so to speak, if they do.' He added, 'Our customers are also pretty vigilant of scanning online local Facebook marketplace and OfferUp type groups and they haven't popped up.' 'We're hoping the police can track the U-Haul, or have it tracked by now,' he added. Several high-profile LEGO thefts have made headlines nationwide in recent months. In December, Texas authorities arrested two individuals in connection with a $400,000 multistate scheme to steal sets from big box retailers and resell online. Earlier this month, a former Wells Fargo banker was accused of acting as the middle man for hundreds of thousands of dollars of LEGO sets stolen from Charlotte-area Walmart and Target stores.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Yahoo
$10,000 in LEGO sets stolen from University Place business
A store in University Place is asking people to keep an eye out online after someone stole $10,000 in LEGO sets. Sasquatch Bricks says it happened around 5 a.m. on Feb. 13. The business says the people who broke in were driving a U-Haul. 'This really hurts a small business as that's quick money lost,' the owner wrote online. The business says the thieves stole a series of sets including the Colosseum, Boutique Hotel, Disney Castle, Millennium Falcon, AT-AT, Infinity Gauntlet, Wolverine's Adamantium Claws, and Batman Mask. The business is contacting other Lego stores in the area to alert them of what happened. If anyone sees these sets being traded on sites such as OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace, they're asked to call the Pierce County Sheriff's Department and mention case number 2504400313. 'Don't do anything heroic as we don't want anyone to get hurt,' the owner said online.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Yahoo
Caught on Camera: $10K of LEGO merch stolen from Sasquatch Bricks
The Brief A family owned and operated toy store was hit in a swift robbery. The thieves made off with more than $10,000 of merchandise, according ot the owner. UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. - A University Place toy store was burglarized early Thursday morning. A portion of the crime was caught on camera. The store owner told us more about how the person or people responsible made off with $10,000 worth of LEGO sets. Cell phone video shared with FOX 13 shows at least one burglar loading a U-Haul truck with stolen merchandise from Sasquatch Bricks, a LEGO retailer, located in University Place. The crime happened around 5 a.m. What they're saying "It really kind of guts you to the core a little bit," said store owner, Scott Nelson. "It's just an invasion of your home. This is where we're at six days a week." The suspect or suspects allegedly used a crowbar to pry open the store's front door before going for high-dollar LEGO sets. "They must have been here before," said Nelson. "We're very organized, we have items categorized. This was a crime of opportunity. They were in and out in under five minutes." Nelson's store, which has been in operation for a decade, specializes in LEGO sets, many of which are considered collectibles. The missing LEGO sets include the following: Colosseum Boutique Hotel NINJAGO City NINJAGO City Gardens AT-AP Assault on Hoth Millennium Falcon AT-AT Batman Cowl Infinity Gauntlet Wolverine's Adamantium Claws "We've been busy contacting other LEGO retailers and community groups," said Nelson. "If these people try to sell them to another retailer, hopefully they won't get very far." What you can do Local authorities are investigating the burglary and are asking anyone with information to call University Place Police or Pierce County Sheriff's Department on their non-emergency line at 253-287-4455. The incident number is 25-044-00313. The Source Information for this article comes from Pierce County Sheriff's Department and original FOX 13 reporting. Politics: WA Senate passes changes to parental rights in education Local: Japan Airlines plane clips tail of Delta plane at Sea-Tac Travel: Here's when you'll need REAL ID to get through US airport security Food: New restaurants coming to Seattle in 2025 To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
