STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — Jacob Paxton and Jason Bowling have pleaded guilty to stealing over $2 million in vintage baseball cards from the Best Western in Strongsville.
On Oct. 1, Bowling pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen property. A day later, on Oct. 2, Paxton pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated theft of $1.5 million or more.
“Jacob Paxton is a thief who almost hit the jackpot,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “Fortunately, he is also stupid which led to his capture. He should sit in prison until he coughs up the other two cards.”
Officials noted that the following two cards remain missing
- 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson card
- 1941 Ted Williams card
Anyone with information on the missing cards is asked to contact the Strongsville Police Department at 440-580-3247 and reference report No. 2024-000693.
Paxton and Bowling will be sentenced on Dec. 16 at 1:30 p.m.
CASE DETAILS:
The incident dates back to April 17, when a FedEx delivery driver dropped off a package containing 54 vintage baseball cards worth $2,123,447 at a Best Western hotel on Royalton Road in Strongsville.
Memory Lane Inc. shipped the cards to the hotel for a sports card conference in Strongsville. The next day, a representative for Memory Lane Inc. attempted to claim the package after receiving an email confirmation that it had been delivered, but hotel staff informed the representative that the package could not be located.
During an investigation by the Strongsville Police Department, it was determined that Paxton, a Best Western employee, allegedly went through several packages that had been delivered to the hotel, including the vintage baseball cards, which he allegedly took to Bowling's residence.
On May 23, Strongsville police executed a search warrant at Bowling’s residence, where they recovered 52 out of the 54 stolen baseball cards.
