$3,500 worth of Legos vanish from California shopping center, cops say. Now 4 charged

Four people accused of stealing more than $3,500 in Legos from a San Mateo store have been arrested, California police reported.

The toys were stolen at 11:27 a.m. Saturday, June 24, from a Lego Store at Hillsdale Shopping Center, San Mateo police said in a news release.

An employee ran outside and spotted the accused thieves fleeing in a Volkswagen Jetta, police said. Police tracked down the vehicle’s owner, who told them it had been rented via an app.

But police were able to begin tracking the Volkswagen through several San Francisco Bay Area communities, the release said.

At 4:10 p.m., San Francisco police pulled over the vehicle and found a handgun inside along with evidence of the Lego Store theft, San Mateo police said.

Officers arrested four people ages 17 to 21 on charges of second-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime, police said.

San Mateo is a city of 106,000 people about 20 miles south of San Francisco.

This story was originally published June 26, 2023 at 11:40 AM with the headline "$3,500 worth of Legos vanish from California shopping center, cops say. Now 4 charged."