Austin man faces charge for allegedly stealing baseball cards

Published 6:37 am Thursday, January 7, 2010

An Austin man faces criminal charges for allegedly stealing baseball cards from Target and helping another man steal a TV.

James Carle Spencer, 36, appeared in court Tuesday and is scheduled for arraignment Jan. 14. He faces one count of gross misdemeanor theft, as well as a lesser count for receiving stolen property.

According to a criminal complaint, Austin police were dispatched to the retailer at around 6:25 p.m. on Saturday.

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Two employees had seen a white male run out of the store with an unpaid TV. They chased him, but the man hopped into a white van as a passenger and got away.

The Target workers were able to get the van’s license plate, which came back registered to a 48-year-old male. That man is believed to be the one who ran out with the TV, though he hasn’t been formally charged.

Later that night, police were again dispatched to Target. This time, employees were suspicious of Spencer, who they said was the driver during the first theft and was now walking around the store very quickly.

Police stopped Spencer as he was driving away in a different vehicle. Officers found several baseball card packs on him, as well as two Christmas stockings, the complaint states.

Employees said those were among a number of items missing. In all, 49 packs of baseball cards were found in Spencer’s vehicle and another 39 were found on him. He was also found with a $30 Warcraft game card, according to the complaint.

The total value of all the stolen items was reported as $796.