A Tarrant County jury sentenced a 28-year-old man to 45 years in prison for his role in a North Texas theft ring that targeted Lego products at Target stores.
Winston Love was found guilty on June 4 of organized retail theft with a deadly weapon, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said. The case was the first prosecuted under Texas’s Organized Retail Theft statute, which covers offenses committed on or after September 1, 2025. The new law “enhances the penalties and clarifies the legal procedures involved in prosecuting such offenses,” according to a bill analysis by the Texas legislature.
Investigators linked Love to thefts at nearly two dozen Target locations across North Texas, with the stolen merchandise consisting largely of Lego sets. Coffee makers, vacuum cleaners, and PlayStation controllers were also recovered following his initial arrest.
A search warrant executed at Love’s residence uncovered evidence of a theft operation that extended from Texas into Oklahoma, with tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of Lego products linked to the ring.
Love was taken into custody in October 2025 after a shoplifting call in Watauga. Authorities said he left the Target store on Highway 377 with about $1,300 worth of Lego toys.
Officers tracked him to a home where he had been staying, and a brief standoff ended with a peaceful arrest. At the time, Love had eight outstanding felony warrants and was connected to or wanted in thefts in Dallas, Irving, Plano, Flower Mound, Euless, Fort Worth, Lewisville, Mansfield, Arlington, and Frisco.
“We know of 23 here locally just in the last two months. There are over 80 additional incidents that have occurred being tracked since this individual has begun being tracked,” Jim Lewis, Watauga Police Chief, said in October 2025, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
In total, Love stole more than $30,000 in merchandise, according to the Tarrant County DA’s office.
