One man, one headquarters, a whole lot of theft. That’s right, one man in Bellevue, Washington thought it would be a good idea to sneak into Valve’s base of operation and steal over 40,000 USD in gear. He was caught, and now 32-year old Shawn Shaputis is facing charges for his attempt.
According to a report from the local news station KIRO 7, Shaputis actually broke into the headquarters last month in Bellevue’s Lincoln Square. Though he was caught red-handed with $40,000 in stolen games and equipment, he still hasn’t fessed up as to why he targeted Valve in particular.
The man almost got away with it, almost. Police were able to link the crime back to Shaputs when they obtained GameStop camera footage when he attempted to sell some of his finds back. Unfortunately for him, he already had a red alert on him from the local police department, as well as numerous arrests under his belt from back in 2018.
Up until his Valve robbery, Shaputis reportedly had six warrants out for his arrest already. Since now he’s facing charges for his crimes in court this week, it looks like his string of crimes could finally be coming to an end. That is, if he actually shows. If he fails to show once more, which has been his MO in the past, he will have yet another warrant out for his arrest and he’ll likely target yet another company in a similar market. With his ties to Seattle, that leaves Microsoft wide open as well as Nintendo.
Or, just maybe, he’ll chill and stop stealing? Nah, wishful thinking.
Published: Oct 9, 2019 07:53 pm