Man accused of stealing children’s sporting equipment to sell online

The Lacey Police Department said a man who allegedly stole children’s sporting equipment and sold them online remains outstanding.

A Lacey school was burglarized last month, losing nine football helmets, four coaching headsets, and various other athletic equipment worth $8,000 in total, according to Lacey police.

An individual associated with the school later contacted authorities after finding some of the items for sale on Facebook Marketplace.

After a patrol officer gathered information about the case, the Community Resource Unit (CRU) confirmed that the suspect was leasing a unit from a storage facility.

The CRU pretended to be interested in the items and tried to meet with the suspect, who claimed the items had already been sold.

The concerned individual continued to message the suspect about the items to gather more information that was then relayed to the CRU.

Last Friday, the suspect admitted that the items were still in the storage unit, Lacey police said. CRU was granted a search warrant for the storage unit, where they recovered six helmets, three headsets, and several other items from the initial burglary.

The male suspect is transient in the area, and remains outstanding, according to Lacey police.

“Sir: you know who you are! Come on in,” Lacey Police said on Facebook. “For now, we would like to thank the citizen involved, who was instrumental in helping us recover these items!”