By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-23 00:42:57 | Updated at 2025-03-24 06:00:09
1 day ago
A toy thief in Washington was arrested for stealing $10,000 worth of Legos from a local toy store after a weeks-long investigation.
Police announced on Friday that they finally located Caylan Andrew Guerra, 32, who was accused of allegedly stealing thousands of dollars worth of Legos from Sasquatch Bricks Toy Store in University Place on February 13.
For over a month, investigators combed through tips and surveillance video which led them to a storage unit just a mile away from the store, according to Pierce County Sheriff's Office public information officer Carly Cappetto.
When officers arrived, the suspect was passed out in his car outside of the storage facility.
Body camera footage revealed multiple officers surrounding the car and demanding the alleged toy thief exit his vehicle.
'Step out of the car or we're going to take you out of the car,' one of the officers threatened.
'Get your hands out of your pocket!' another officer held.
The first officer then threatened to break the window if he didn't exit his vehicle. After several seconds, one of the officers shattered the driver's seat window and pulled Guerra out of his car.
Pierce County Sheriff's Office in Washington announced that after over a month of investigating a burglary at a local toy store, they finally caught the suspect
Body camera footage revealed the chaotic moment police officers found the suspect, Caylan Andrew Guerra, 32, asleep in his car outside of a storage facility
Sasquatch Bricks, a toy store in University Place in Washington was burglarized on February 13 and over $10,000 worth of Legos was stolen
'The suspect had an extensive history for property crimes and weapons violations so deputies did not want to waste time getting him detained,' Officer Cappetto said.
Cops handcuffed Guerra and informed him that he would be charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, obstructing a law enforcement officer, and possession of a stolen firearm.
Officers also discovered firearms, drugs, scales, and small baggies when they searched the storage unit. The stolen Legos were uncovered hiding in the rafters.
A police report also revealed that one of the firearms was reported stolen, there were large amounts of methamphetamine, two bags of Fentanyl, and stolen debit and credit cards.
'Here is a HUGE shoutout to the University Place Investigator for piecing all this together and finishing this Lego set. Hopefully this suspect will stay in prison this time,' Cappetto added in a press release.
Guerra has an extensive criminal record including driving with a suspended license, criminal mischief with a deadly weapon, and stolen property trafficking.
Cappetto told Dailymail.com that Guerra was arraigned on Friday and his bail was set at $175,000.
Guerra allegedly stole the massive amount of Legos by breaking into the store in the early hours of the morning and fleeing the scene in a U-Haul. When deputies finally arrived, the suspect was gone and the store was in disarray.
After the suspect refused to get out of his vehicle, one officer broke a window and police forcibly removed him from his car and arrested him
In addition to the Legos, stolen firearms and illegal drugs were recovered from the storage facility
Officers are continuing to investigate criminal activity potentially linked to Guerra, including the stolen U-Haul.
Guerra has pleaded not guilty to the crimes and is scheduled for a court hearing on April 15.
Shockingly, this is not the first Lego-related theft this month. A suspect named Michael Ivory Fletcher, 23, was arrested on March 4 in California for multiple counts of second-degree commercial burglary.
Fletcher was accused of stealing $25,000 worth of merchandise from a Target in Martinez, which is about an hour West of San Francisco.
The suspect stole Lego products across multiple counties in the area between August 2024 to February 2025.
'Fletcher’s actions followed a similar method of entering a store alone, filling up a shopping cart of LEGO products, and exiting with the stolen merchandise in a matter of minutes,' Ted Asregadoo, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office wrote in a press release.
Police are still investigating the case and attempting to link the suspect to other crimes, including drug charges
Deputies found the stolen Legos hiding in the rafters of the storage facility and arrested the suspect on March 20
Legos have become the center of multiple high-level theft crimes due to their high-resale value
Legos are typically thought of as building blocks for kids that send shooting pains through your leg if you step on one, but it's not uncommon for the toys to be the center of theft.
They have a high return value because some sets can become rare special edition releases.
A study from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow revealed in 2021 that unopened Lego sets have an average annual return of 11 percent on the resale market.
Considering the toy's resale value and the high price points for collector's editions, it's no wonder thieves have set their sights on toy stores.
