Two men appeared in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, facing allegations of a bold heist involving over $2 million worth of precious baseball cards lifted from a Best Western hotel in Strongsville. The duo wasted no time in asserting their innocence, both opting for the classic plea of “not guilty.”
Jacob Paxton, a 27-year-old member of the hotel staff, was charged with aggravated theft of a jaw-dropping $1,500,000 or more, along with tampering with evidence. His bond was firmly set at $50,000, and a calendar date was marked for his next courtroom performance on July 15. On the other hand, his accomplice in the fiasco, 50-year-old Jason Bowling, faced a lone accusation of holding onto stolen property. Bowling’s bond mirrored Paxton’s at $100,000, and he too was summoned to reappear on the shared return date in July.
The narrative behind the missing memorabilia commences with a crucial delivery that went awry. On April 17, a FedEx courier thoughtlessly gifted the hotel with a parcel housing 54 unfathomably rare vintage baseball cards valued at a staggering $2,123,447, intended for the eagle-eyed enthusiasts at Memory Lane Inc. partaking in a nearby sporty card congregation.
The story took a tantalizing twist when a representative from Memory Lane Inc. waltzed into the hotel premises on April 18 with hopes of retrieving the precious cargo, only to be met with an unsettling vacancy – the package had mysteriously vanished into thin air, setting off a chain reaction that led to a full-blown police inquiry.
After some meticulous detective work, the cunning plan unraveled before the authorities’ eyes. It was discerned that Paxton had been cunningly rifling through a multitude of deliveries stationed at the hotel, cherry-picking the prime pieces and delivering them directly to Bowling’s abode nestled in Cleveland. The curtain fell on their act on May 23, when the police, armed with a warrant, stormed Bowling’s residence and managed to rescue 52 out of the total 54 purloined cards.
Nevertheless, the story of the missing artifacts persists, with two illustrious pieces still at large. The elusive cards in question are none other than the historic 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson card and the iconic 1941 Ted Williams card, remaining a critical enigma in this unfolding tale of theft and deceit.
Any gallant informants holding the key to solve this crucial mystery and unravel the whereabouts of the two missing cards are earnestly implored to extend their helping hand to the diligent authorities at the Strongsville Police Department. To facilitate the search, individuals are kindly urged to reference report number #2024-000693 when sharing any potentially vital information that might aid in the recovery of these irreplaceable pieces of baseball history.
