Police in Irvine have arrested a man for a unique scheme: he allegedly replaced over $30,000 worth of LEGO sets at Target stores across the country with boxes of Goya pasta.
On April 16th, the California police department reported that 28-year-old Jarrelle Augustine is suspected of buying LEGO sets from Target, taking out the LEGO figures and pieces, and replacing them with dried pasta.
This wasn’t an isolated incident – reports indicate at least 70 Target stores were affected, resulting in a total loss of around $34,000.
Police posted videos on Instagram showing the arrest and the suspected instances where pasta was switched for LEGOs.
Police say LEGO criminal had a “pasta-tively terrible plan”
Target security cameras captured a man stealing LEGO boxes. Police then caught him while he was in his car.
Body camera footage from the police shows the arrest happened on April 14th. It depicts Augustine being handcuffed and taken into custody after being arrested for grand theft. He was then taken to the Orange County Jail and booked.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Irvine Police Department (@irvinepolice)
The Irvine Police Department used a lot of pasta and LEGO puns in their post, jokingly calling the incident a “pasta-tively terrible plan.”
As with many poorly constructed schemes, this one quickly fell apart. Investigators immediately began watching the suspect and were able to identify them, according to officials.
If you’re hoping to trade LEGO bricks for pasta, things aren’t going to go as planned – they’ll likely fall apart quickly.
This isn’t the first time a LEGO theft has made headlines.
In early April, police arrested three men and recovered about $1 million worth of LEGO sets that had been stolen while being shipped through Texas.
Stealing from Target using food isn’t uncommon. Just recently, in March, a man in Florida tried to use taco seasoning packets to steal trading cards.
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2026-04-18 00:54