Couple Caught On Video Helping Boy Steal Pricey Lego Set From Concord Toy Store

CONCORD (KPIX) - A toy storeowner in Concord is angry about what he believes was a family of thieves that targeted his store.

Tom Fitzimmons of Pot of Gold Collectibles said he has cameras everywhere, so he knew he would find video of the theft, but he was shocked by what he saw.

The surveillance video shows three people entering together: a man, a woman and a boy who Fitzimmons said looked to be about 10 years old.

On the video, we see the boy gently pulls an expensive Lego set halfway off the shelf. At that point, the man walks up to the owner and starts pointing in the other direction.

"My line of sight is that I can't see his hands," Fitzsimmons said. "He distracts me, and then bam!"

At a given signal, the boy grabbed the set then walked right out of the front store alongside the adult woman.

"That was a distraction technique," Fitzsimmons said. "That was intentional, they came in to steal."

Fitzimmons said he has no proof they are members of the same family, but the three did speak a similar language he did not recognize as either Spanish or English.

Fitzimmons said he reported the July 31 theft to police as soon as he was able to dig out the surveillance video. Then he posted the video on Facebook. He said he is angry with the adults for appearing to coach the child through the theft of the set worth $180.

"They're showing him that theft is easy or there's no accountability for it," Fitzsimmons said, adding that he does not want the child to be prosecuted.

"No, the child shouldn't be punished for his parents' actions -- the two adults in there. Those are the people that need to be punished.

Fitzsimmons showed KPIX5 the paperwork he filed with Concord Police. So far, the department has not returned our calls.