Crime & Safety
San Carlos Man Pleads Not Guilty
Multimillionaire Thomas Langenbach rejects plea bargain after allegedly switching barcodes at a Mountain View Target store.
A San Carlos resident accused of switching barcodes on the tags of LEGO toys at a Mountain View store pleaded not guilty in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Tuesday, rejecting a plea bargain.
Thomas Langenbach, the vice president of SAP Labs, was booked on four felony burglary counts on May 8 after allegedly switching barcodes at a Mountain View Target store. He has also been accused of switching barcodes in Target stores in Cupertino and Redwood City.
He purchased the items at greatly lowered prices scanned from the barcodes, according to a criminal complaint by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office.
Palo Alto Weekly's Sue Dremann reported police found hundreds of unopened LEGO sets -- many special-edition items -- at his gated, multimillion-dollar home, according to court papers.
Items from the three stores were found at Langenbach's home, according to a police report filed with the court.
Investigators also found eight Ziploc bags containing labels with fraudulent barcodes in his 2011 Toyota Sienna van. There were also shipping boxes in the home. Police say he had an eBay account, through which he has sold 2,100 items since April 17, 2011.
Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie previously said Langenbach sold about $30,000 in merchandise on an eBay account under the name Tom's Brickyard. At the time of his arrest, 193 items were for sale. Most were LEGO sets, according to court papers.
