A Fort Worth, Texas man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery and stealing various merchandise from retailers, including over 200 LEGO sets, worth more than $30,000. Authorities said the LEGO thefts took place in several states in 2025.
It's no secret that LEGO is one of the most recognizable brands in popular culture. Some of the sets that LEGO releases include crossovers with popular brands such as Pokémon. Earlier in June, LEGO and Pokémon gave fans a glimpse of 12 LEGOs Pokémon Smart Play Kits from $14.99 to $119.99. These sets will be released on August 1st as part of Pokémons ongoing 30th anniversary campaign. Due to the limited availability of some kits, LEGO products are a valuable commodity in the resale market. But this has also made LEGO kits a prime target for theft.
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Texas LEGO Thief sentenced to 45 years in prison
The Watauga Police Department said in a June 11 Facebook post that 28-year-old Winston Love of Fort Worth was convicted of organized retail theft with a deadly weapon after authorities linked him to a string of thefts in several states. Days after the verdict was handed down on June 4, Love was sentenced to 45 years in prison after stealing over 200 LEGO kits. Love was arrested in October 2025 after stealing over $1,200 worth of LEGO sets from a Target store in Watauga, a Tarrant County suburb north of Fort Worth. Love fled the scene and was arrested after a brief stop at his home. Officials said Love was part of a theft ring that operated in Texas and Oklahoma. Along with his 45-year prison sentence, Love was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
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Watauga police said Love committed 23 thefts at Target stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, including cities such as Lewisville, Frisco, Mansfield and Arlington. However, authorities said the LEGO packages weren't the only items Love stole during his crime spree across the area. Other items stolen from Target stores across the Metroplex included PlayStation controllers, coffee makers and vacuum cleaners.
According to a Twitter post by the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office, Love's case was the first jury trial under an updated version of Texas' organized retail theft statute, which took effect on September 1, 2025. In short, the penalties for committing organized retail theft in Texas are much harsher than before. Along with the stolen property, investigators found more than $5,000 in cash and various narcotics when they executed a search warrant at Love's home.
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This isn't the first case where LEGO kits have been targeted by thieves in 2026. In April, the Irvine Police Department said a suspect, 28-year-old Jarrelle Augustine, stole dozens of LEGO sets from their boxes and replaced them with bags of dried pasta. The bizarre crime eventually led to an arrest that was caught on body-cam video. The footage led to various comments on social media that largely celebrated the thief's capture with various pasta-related puns and puns.
Sources: Dexerto, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
