Thieves make off with more than $100k in stolen Legos from stores across SoCal

Investigators are looking for thieves whom they suspect is responsible for a string of burglaries targeting Lego resale stores across Southern California. 

One of the owners of Bricks & Minifigs in Whittier says that seven stores have been hit since the beginning of April, resulting in more than $100,000 in stolen merchandise over at least seven different incidents. 

"It's very violating," said Shauna Garcia, who owns one of the store's locations in Ontario. "You feel very vulnerable. You don't know if it will happen again, or our other store."

A location in Riverside was hit first on April 3 and since then stores in Ontario, Whittier, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Riverside. 

Some footage from the burglary in Ontario shows as two men break into the store, located on N. Archibald Avenue, before stealing thousands worth of merchandise in just 42 seconds. 

"It was really fast. They knew exactly what they were looking for and where it was in the store because they'd done their homework ahead of time," Garcia said. 

Related: $300,000 of stolen Legos recovered by retail theft task force

Suspects have often been caught on surveillance camera in as they force entry, usually done by breaking a store window, before ransacking store shelves.

Stores in Costa Mesa and Anaheim were hit early Sunday morning in the latest crimes targeting the resale chain. Fullerton police say that despite a window of the Anaheim location being broken, the man did not actually enter the store. 

Bricks & Minifigs stores are independently owned by families. 

LEGO thefts have been a rising issue across the nation in recent weeks due to the high costs of some sets, which can span between $400 and $1,000.