Some alleged blockheaded thieves found themselves in trouble with the law over returned boxes of Legos.
Authorities in Irving, California, arrested Adriana Esquerra Gonzalez, 29, and Luis Aldredo Quintanilla Pompa, 30, last week on suspicion of shoplifting. The couple is from Tijuana, Mexico.
The two were arrested after bringing back boxes of Legos to a Target and the minifigures were missing, according to Irving police.
The arrests are similar to one earlier in the week where a suspect was accused of trying to return Lego boxes filled with pasta for a refund.
Police say the duo in the most recent arrest had visited five other stores the same day for a similar scam. Investigators worked with loss prevention officers at the stores to identify the suspects.
When police searched the duo’s car, they allegedly found several of the stolen Lego pieces.
The arrest comes after a man in the same city tried a similar return-theft scam.
Irving police arrested Jarrelle Augstine, 28, early in the week in connection with at least 70 Lego thefts at stores across the country. He is alleged to have stolen $34,000 worth of the blocky toys.
Investigators say that Augustine took Lego boxes and swapped the toys with dried pasta and then returned them for refunds.
“One of the cases that occurred here in Orange County, they shared that they opened the box and instead of Legos, they found bags of dry pasta,” Officer Ziggy Azarcon told CBS News.
Augustine was charged with grand theft.
