Lakeville Man Accused of Stealing, Pawning Thousands in DVDs

Police say a Lakeville man stole more than $3,000 in DVD movies from multiple different Twin Cities Target stores spanning 22 incidents during a spree late last year.

Evan Daniel Lucius, 23, of Lakeville, has been charged by the Dakota County Attorney's Office with one felony count of theft in connection with the incidents.

According to a , Apple Valley Police were first tipped to the thefts by a Target corporate investigator who identified Lucius as one of two men alleged to have been stealing movies from Target stores, including the .

An officer checked pawn records and discovered Lucius had pawned a significant number of DVD’s and DVD box sets over the previous number of months, the complaint said.

Target provided investigators with surveillance footage and reports regarding the 22 different incidents involving Lucius at Target stores in Apple Valley, , Burnsville, Bloomington, Minneapolis, and St. Paul. The incident dates spanned from Oct. 12, 2011 through Dec. 13, 2011 and the total value of the DVDs stolen during these incidents was $3,228.59, according to the complaint.

When confronted by police at his home, Lucius admitted to the thefts, saying he was going through 'some hard times because he owed some money to drug dealers." He told police he used the cash from pawning stolen DVDs to pay debts, according to the complaint.

Lucius also identified himself in surveillance photos of all 22 incidents.

Lucius' next court appearance is slated for next month.