The Force wasn’t with a New Jersey man who is now in a Pasco County jail.
When a Pasco Sheriff’s Deputy tried to talk with Shannon Kirkley about shoplifting at Toys R-Us, he didn’t exactly want to cooperate.
After a brief struggle, investigators said they discovered Kirkley removed security stickers from $300 worth of Star Wars Legos.
They said he tried to sneak them out of the store in a toy chest that he did pay for.
According to the deputies, the toy store chain had sent out a warning to be on the look out for Kirkley because he’s suspected of doing the same thing at several other locations.
Investigators said Kirkley wasn’t stealing the Legos to play with or collect. Instead they said he was selling them and using the money to buy cocaine.
There are stories of Lego thefts around the country with the sets up for re-sale on-line or on the black-market.
That’s not surprising because according to Money magazine, “Legos have been a better investment than gold since 2000.”
Matthew Clark displays his Stars Wars Lego sets proudly.
“When he first started putting these on his list for birthdays and Christmas we started researching how much they were and there was sticker shock for sure,” said his mom Gayle Clark.
“One of the ones he requested was the Death Star and that started at $400, needless to say you don’t see a Death Star on that shelf anywhere,” said Clark.
No word on just how many Legos Kirkley may have stolen nationwide.
During Tuesday’s arrest, deputies found some cocaine in his pockets, although he told them the shorts belonged to a friend.
