Man accused of stealing $25,000 worth of Legos from northern California stores | California

A man in California has been charged with nabbing about $25,000 of Legos in two state counties, according to officials.

Michael Ivory Fletcher, 32, is accused of stealing the Lego products from Target stores in Walnut Creek and San Ramon between 15 August 2024 and 15 February 2025, according to the Contra Costa district attorney’s office. He faces multiple charges of commercial burglary and grand theft.

Fletcher is alleged to have used the same method in each theft: he would enter the store alone, load his cart with Lego items and leave quickly, all within a matter of minutes.

He then supposedly placed the stolen toys in a vehicle parked in a designated accessible parking spot. According to the district attorney’s office, Fletcher carried out this scheme at least seven times. It’s unclear whether he targeted specific Lego sets.

Fletcher is also suspected of thefts in several other counties, including Solano, Alameda, San Joaquin, Sonoma and Santa Clara.

Besides the charges in Contra Costa county, Fletcher has been charged by the Alameda county district attorney for stealing $1,881 worth of Star Wars Lego sets in Fremont, according to KTVU.

Fletcher was arrested at a Target store in Walnut Creek and is currently being held at the Martinez detention facility on nearly $500,000 bail. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to nine years and four months in county jail.

Lego products have become a popular target for theft in the Bay Area. Last year, a man led police on an 11-mile chase after allegedly stealing $900 worth of Lego sets in Solano county. Additionally, in June 2023, four people were arrested for stealing more than $3,500 worth of Lego bricks from a San Mateo store.

Lego sets, which range in price from $100 to $1,000, are easy to resell, with used sets in decent shape going for 50% of the original price.