The assistant fire chief of a Louisiana volunteer fire department has been arrested after allegedly creating fake barcode stickers to steal dozens of Pokémon cards from a Target store.
Justin Taylor, the assistant chief with the Westwego Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, was accused of creating fraudulent Universal Product Code (UPC) labels to reduce the price of Pokémon cards at checkout, NOLA reported.
Taylor, 38, had reportedly done this several times at a Target store in Harvey, Louisiana, leading to a total of about $300 in stolen items.
Around 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, after Target security recognized him from previous incidents, Taylor was arrested. When officers arrived at the scene, they reviewed footage that reportedly showed Taylor using the fake UPC labels to reduce the price of the cards.
"He admitted creating his own UPC labels and placing them on the cards to make them cheaper," Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesperson for the sheriff's office, told NOLA.
Taylor was taken into custody while still in his fire department uniform, with his bond set at t $9,000. He was later released due to jail overcrowding.
Following the arrest, Taylor was placed on administrative leave by the Westwego Fire Department. The department along with law enforcement are conducting an internal investigation.
"The Westwego Fire Department is taking this matter seriously and is cooperating fully with law enforcement and is conducting its own internal review of the matter," Ken Bouvier, Westwego Fire Chief, told the outlet.
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