Caught On Tape: 2 Adults Allegedly Help Young Child Steal Pricey Lego Set

CONCORD, CA — The owner of a toy store in California is claiming that two adults and a child targeted his shop to steal an expensive Lego set. The owner also released security video that, he says, depicts a man distracting him while a boy takes the item and an adult female walks outside with the child.

Tom Fitzsimmons, proprietor of Pot of Gold Collectibles and More in Concord, said he alerted police to the alleged theft last week. He also shared a video online that, he said, shows the theft of a Pirates of the Caribbean Lego set worth $180.

On the video, a man and a woman enter Pot of Gold with a boy who Fitzsimmons said looked to be about 10 years old.

While the woman and the boy on the tape walk into an aisle, the man is shown approaching Fitzsimmons at the counter, where he directs the storeowner’s attention to a display item on the wall behind him.

Talking to KPIX-TV, Fitzsimmons said, “That was a distraction technique…. My line of sight is that I can’t see his hands. He distracts me, and then bam!”

The video also allegedly shows the boy taking the Lego box from a shelf and walking outside the shop with it. The woman in the footage walks alongside the child.

Fitzsimmons said he does not know if the man, woman, and child are members of the same family, but he claimed they spoke a similar language that he did not recognize as either English or Spanish.

Fitzsimmons also decried what he thinks is the possible use of a child to commit a crime, stating, “They’re showing him that theft is easy or there’s no accountability for it. No, the child shouldn’t be punished for his parents’ actions — the two adults in there. Those are the people that need to be punished.”

In an interview with KNTV, Fitzsimmons noted that shoplifting particularly hurts an independent business like Pot of Gold, stating, “We’re a little mom and pops. We’re not Bill Gates, we’re not Walmart corporate."

Police are reportedly investigating the incident.

Read more: KNTV, KABC, Fugitive Watch