A Toy Crime Story

By Kyle Munzenrieder Thu., May 21 2009 at 11:20 AM

Categories: Crime

image via Salon

If you've gone to a toy store in recent months hoping to get your kid that lego set he's had his eye on only to find it sold out, then went home and searched online to find it at a much cheaper price, well you might have Max Rodriguez to conversely blame and thank.

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Rodriguez, a South Miami-Dade resident, had a pretty crafty racket going. He'd go to stores and buy a whole bunch of toys, slyly alter their bar codes so they rang up at a reduced price, and then turned around to sell them on the internet.

Broward Sherrifs caught him yesterday after employees at a Wal-mart in Lauderdale Lakes grew suspicious. Rodriguez was seen walking around the store with six sets of the same $62 Lego playset. When he went to the checkout line the total only came to $44.46 for the half-dozen. The clerk notified loss prevention, and Rodriguez ended up in jail. He bailed out, but not before admitting his scheme.

Police found over $7000 worth of toys in his home, and initially charged him with a single count of grand theft. Though, more charges may be forthcoming.

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