California man charged with theft of $25,000 in bricks
OK, so maybe that’s not a thing. But it might have been for a Vallejo, Calif., man who authorities allege stole thousands of dollars in Lego merchandise from Target stores.
Three things to know
- Michael Ivory Fletcher, 32, was charged by the Contra Costa District Attorney with multiple counts of second-degree burglary and grand theft after he was accused of stealing nearly $25,000 worth of Lego merchandise from Target stores in San Ramon and Walnut Creek between August 2024 and February 2025. The Contra Costa Public Defenders office, which is representing Fletcher, did not immediately return requests for comment.
- The Lego heists happened in a total of six California counties, where authorities say Fletcher loaded up his shopping cart with the expensive building toys, disappeared into the parking lot “in a matter of minutes” and drove away, according to the DA’s office.
- Lego larceny is big business in California. In June, ‘s Adrian Florido reported that Lego thefts had become more frequent in the Los Angeles area, with thieves targeting a specific kind of Lego — the minifig.
Why the Lego hype?
Well, it turns out that the iconic bricks and figurines can have a return value that rivals traditional investments, including gold.
That’s according to one study from 2021, in which researchers from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow found that select unopened Lego sets on the resale market saw an average annual return of 11%.
In part, that’s because rare special edition releases, like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars, and kits produced for a limited time can skyrocket in value on the secondary market.
Dive deeper with
- Read more on another kind of Lego crime altogether — counterfeit kits.
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