Thousands of dollars in LEGO sets were stolen from a Mt. Juliet Walmart over the weekend. It’s a trend we are seeing here in Middle Tennessee and across the country.
MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — Thousands of dollars in LEGO sets were stolen from a Mt. Juliet Walmart over the weekend.
Police said the thieves assaulted an employee on their way out before leading police on a chase.
All three suspects were arrested and booked into the Wilson County Jail.
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“Shoplifting is our number one crime driver in Mt. Juliet. It is the highest number when you look at our crime stats and we are constantly looking at keeping that down,” said Tyler Chandler, Deputy Chief of the Mt. Juliet Police Department.
According to Mt. Juliet police, in 2023 there were 72 reports of shoplifting cases from April to September. In 2024 that number rose to 118.
“Most shoplifters do run, and we end up in a pursuit,” Chandler said.
And that’s what happened on Sunday, after three shoplifters got away with over $2,000 of merchandise. Police were able to stop the driver after deploying spike strips on I-40.
“And then once they were looking into the car, they found LEGO [sets]. Which is normally a kid’s toy but very popular amongst shoplifters,” Chandler said.
It’s a trend we are seeing here in Middle Tennessee and across the country. Just over a year ago, Franklin Police captured this video of suspects allegedly stealing $1,500 in LEGO sets.
“In this case, shoplifters know it’s a high-ticket item so what they are going to do is steal it then try to sell it…it’s a hot commodity, LEGO is, for shoplifters,” Chandler said.
All three suspects were booked into the Wilson County Jail. LEGO sets from Disney, Transformers, to Harry Potter were recovered in the trunk.
“It’s in the thousands of what they had. They had different large LEGO sets. There are some very expensive sets, and some stores sell collector item type sets which then sell out, and then people try to sell them for a higher profit,” Chandler said.