Two men have been sentenced in connection to a daring theft of rare baseball cards worth a staggering $2.1 million from a Strongsville hotel earlier this year. The incident shook the core of the community, leaving many in shock at the audacity of the crime.
Jacob R. Paxton, a 28-year-old from Brunswick who was employed at the hotel, pleaded guilty in October to aggravated theft. He was sentenced to four to six years in prison, followed by two to five years of community control. Paxton also has the additional burden of paying over $89,000 in restitution. Although a second charge of tampering with evidence was dismissed as part of his plea deal, the repercussions of his actions will endure for years to come.
The heist took place when a shipment of collectible cards, sent by vintage sports card dealer Memory Lane Inc., reached the Best Western Plus hotel along Royalton Road on April 17. The valuable cards were destined for a sports card expo at the Brunswick Auto Mart Arena nearby. Prosecutors revealed that Paxton, who was an employee at the hotel, clandestinely sifted through the delivered packages and made off with the coveted cards, leaving chaos and confusion in his wake.
During his trial, Paxton expressed remorse for his wrongdoings, acknowledging the pain he caused. “I just want to say that I’m very sorry to the victim, and this doesn’t show who I am,” he lamented. “I have a 2-year-old… it’s just me and him. I’ve been doing my very best. I wasn’t honest with the detectives at first that I had [the cards]. I should have been. I was just scared.”
Following the theft, Paxton entrusted the stolen cards to Jason Bowling, a 51-year-old from Cleveland. Bowling’s attorney, Jaye Schlachet, argued in his defense, claiming that Bowling was oblivious to the cards’ origins and believed they were merely salvaged from a dumpster.
The authorities swooped in on Bowling’s residence on May 23 with a search warrant, successfully recovering all but two of the stolen cards. Their investigation was meticulously pieced together using a combination of phone records, surveillance footage, GPS data, and witness testimonies, which conclusively linked both perpetrators to the crime.
In October, Bowling pleaded guilty to the charge of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to one year of community control, marking a rather lenient punishment in light of the severity of the offense.
The repercussions of the heist reverberated far and wide, causing considerable financial and reputational damage to Memory Lane Inc. A victim impact statement revealed that the incident directly led to the company losing a crucial $2 million loan and an additional $100,000 in interest, apart from the tarnishing of their hard-earned reputation.
Despite the recovery efforts, two of the stolen cards still remain unaccounted for, leaving a lingering sense of loss and injustice:
1. A 1909 T204 Ramly Walter Johnson card with a PSA grade of 5 and certificate No. 90586922
2. A 1941 Play Ball No. 14 Ted Williams card in near-mint-to-mint condition with a PSA grade of 8 and certificate No. 05159693
Anyone possessing information regarding the whereabouts of these missing cards is urged to come forward and contact the Strongsville police at 440-580-3247, referencing report No. 2024-000693. The quest to restore these treasured artifacts continues, as the community rallies together to right the wrongs inflicted by this brazen act of thievery.
