Deputy fire chief accused of stealing Pokémon cards from Target

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WVUE) – The deputy fire chief of the Westwego Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, Justin Taylor, was placed on administrative leave following his arrest for allegedly stealing Pokémon trading cards from a West Bank Target store.

Taylor, 38, was arrested Nov. 6 at the Manhattan Boulevard location and charged with four counts of theft, four counts of computer fraud and four counts of Universal Product Code (UPC) label fraud, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

According to JPSO spokesman Capt. Jason Rivarde, authorities allege that Taylor used a system of fraudulent UPC labels that allowed him to purchase packs of Pokémon cards at a discounted price.

Rivarde says Taylor admitted to creating fake UPC labels and placing them on the packages. He has reportedly done this three times at the same store, purchasing around $300 worth of merchandise.

In a statement, Westwego Fire Chief Ken Bouvier confirmed Taylor's leave of absence and announced an internal review within the fire department.

“The Westwego Fire Department is taking this matter seriously and is cooperating fully with law enforcement,” Bouvier said. “We are committed to preserving the public’s trust and maintaining the highest standards of integrity.”

Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Click here to report it. Please provide the heading.

Subscribe to Fox 8 YouTube channel.

Copyright 2024 WVUE. All rights reserved.