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FORT WORTH (CN) - Prosecutors on Wednesday announced the sentencing of an armed serial Lego thief to 45 years in state prison under Texas’ strengthened organized retail theft law.
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells said the conviction of Winston Love, 28, was the first jury trial in the state under the new Organized Retail Theft statute, which applies to crimes committed on or after Sept. 1, 2025. Love was convicted June 4 of organized retail theft with a deadly weapon.
Authorities say Love stole more than 200 Lego sets from Target stores in Grapevine, Euless, Mansfield and Watauga, along with other merchandise including coffee makers, vacuum cleaners and PlayStation controllers.
“On Oct. 27, 2025, he fled a Mansfield Target at 7:40 a.m. after a loss prevention officer called him by name,” Sorrells said in a written statement. “He sped away, at times driving on the wrong side of the road and endangering motorists, including children riding on school buses.”
Love has a lengthy criminal history and faces 11 pending theft charges under $2,500 in Dallas, Denton, Collin and Comal counties. He also faces one count of organized retail theft between $2,500 and $30,000 in Collin County, according to court records.
The enhanced state law now makes retail thefts between $2,500 and $30,000 a third-degree felony.
Love was arrested Oct. 31 after fleeing a Target in Watauga, a suburb north of Fort Worth. Local police said he fled the store with $1,200 in merchandise and is believed to be part of a theft ring operating between Oklahoma and Texas.
“Mr. Love is suspected of committing 23 thefts from Target stores across multiple Texas cities, including Dallas, Watauga, Irving, Plano, Fort Worth, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Frisco, Grapevine, Euless, Arlington, Mansfield, Temple and Harker Heights, in the past two months alone,” Watauga police said in a written statement. “The thefts are estimated to total over $37,000.”
Authorities say large retailers have increasingly been targeted for Lego products due their popularity on resale markets. In April, a California man was arrested for allegedly stealing $34,000 worth of Lego sets and replacing parts with dried pasta before attempting to return them for refunds.
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