Top Ten Toys targeted by LEGO thieves

Top Ten Toys, at 120 N. 85th St., has been hit recently by at least two shoplifters who have stolen high-end LEGO sets. Staffing Manager Aries J. Galindo said two men visited the store separately last week, and another man and woman appeared to be casing the store previous to that.

Security camera footage shows the man in the image below went straight to the back of the store, placed his large backpack on the floor, picked up several small LEGO sets, then walked out with one of the large LEGO Mindstorms sets worth more than $300.

Later in the week, the man in the white shirt pictured below entered the store carrying an empty gift bag. About 10 minutes later as he was leaving the store, a staff member approached him because she saw that he had a LEGO Mindstorms set in the bag. The man said he had just purchased it at Fred Meyer. Galindo said that man had a number of tattoos on both arms and a tattoo behind his left ear.

Galindo said the store is missing at least four of these expensive LEGO sets. Because of the thefts, Top Ten Toys has instituted a bag check when customers enter the store. Customers who refuse a staff member’s request to look in their bag will be asked to put their bag in their vehicle or come back later without the bag.

The store also will not accept any returns for LEGO Mindstorms sets without a receipt. “We maintain the right to retain the item until said receipt is presented and the sales database is cross referenced,” he told me by email. “There will not be any refunds and/or store credits for LEGO sets that are clearly showing as ‘no sale’ in our system.”