A man from Fort Worth, Texas has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted of armed theft and stealing various goods from retailers, including over 200 LEGO sets, worth over $30,000. Authorities said that the LEGO thefts took place across multiple 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 like Pokemon. Earlier in June, LEGO and Pokemon gave fans a glimpse at 12 LEGO Pokemon Smart Play kits ranging from $14.99 to $119.99. These sets will be released on August 1 as part of Pokemon‘s ongoing 30th anniversary campaign. Due to the limited availability of some kits, LEGO products are a valuable commodity on the resale market. However, 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 stated 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 connected him to a string of thefts across multiple states. Days after the conviction 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 retail store in Watauga, a Tarrant County suburb located north of Fort Worth. Love fled the scene and was arrested after a brief standoff at his home. Officials said that Love was part of a retail theft ring operating 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 that Love committed 23 thefts in Target stores across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, including cities such as Lewisville, Frisco, Mansfield, and Arlington. However, authorities said that the LEGO kits were not the only items that Love stole during his crime spree across the area. Other merchandise that was stolen from Target stores across the Metroplex included PlayStation controllers, coffee makers, and vacuum cleaners.
According to a Twitter post by 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 punishments for committing organized retail theft in Texas are much harsher than before. Along with the stolen goods, investigators found more than $5,000 in cash and various narcotics while executing a search warrant at Love’s home.
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This is not the first case in which LEGO kits have been targeted by thieves in 2026. In April, the Irvine Police Department stated that 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 wordplay.
Sources: Dexerto, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
