Santa Rosa, CA – Detectives with the Santa Rosa Police Department’s Property Crimes Investigations Team have arrested a Lake County man accused of running an organized retail theft fencing operation centered on stolen LEGO sets.
According to SRPD, 39-year-old Robert Lopez of Hidden Valley Lake was allegedly directing others to steal high-value LEGO products from retailers including Target and Walmart, purchasing the stolen goods at reduced prices, and reselling them for profit.
On October 13, 2025, detectives served a search warrant at Lopez’s home on the 18000 block of Spyglass Road in Hidden Valley Lake. Inside, they found thousands of LEGO pieces and unopened boxes spread across multiple rooms, as well as hundreds of disassembled mini figurines organized for resale. Investigators estimate more than $6,000 in stolen merchandise was recovered.
Police also located three firearms, including a loaded handgun, a pump-action shotgun, and an assault rifle with high-capacity magazines—illegal for Lopez to possess as a convicted felon.
Lopez was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on multiple felony charges, including organized retail theft, conspiracy, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
SRPD credited the investigation’s success to collaboration with Target and Walmart’s organized retail theft teams. Detectives continue to investigate to identify additional suspects and trace where the stolen merchandise originated.
Organized retail theft rings like this, police said, can drive up costs for consumers and fuel online sales of untraceable stolen goods.
