Two men have been arrested in Southern California in separate incidents involving the theft of sports cards by switching bar codes. it’s the type of theft store security and law enforcement officers continue to battle.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies say the most recent incident began last month when Target security had detained a man for stealing boxes of baseball cards. A further investigation last week resulted in a search warrant for the man’s home during which over $2,000 worth of cards were seized.
According to investigators, Thomas Dillon Ripley, 45, from Victorville, would use a fraudulent barcode to pay a much lower price for the items. He’s been charged with burglary and grand theft but was released after posting bail and will appear in court at a later date.
The arrest is the second such case in the area in recent days. Last week, 40-year-old Juan Pablo Leal of Adelanto, CA was arrested after the sheriff’s office reported that over $15,000 worth of cards, Hot Wheels and other items were found at his home. Detectives say Leal used a similar method of covering the original Target bar codes with others that rang up a lower price for the merchandise.
Leal is facing charges of possession of stolen property. He’s also free on bond with a pending court date.
Bar code switching has been a common problem for retail outlets. Last year, three people were arrested after the state attorney general’s office charged them with a scheme that involved more than $100,000 worth of merchandise from Home Depot stores.
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