Two men in Strongsville, Ohio, have found themselves in a sticky situation after being accused of stealing over $2 million worth of vintage baseball cards from a Best Western hotel. Jacob Paxton, a 27-year-old hotel employee, and Jason Bowling, a 50-year-old individual, both pleaded not guilty to their respective charges in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
Paxton, the hotel employee, faced charges of aggravated theft exceeding $1.5 million and tampering with evidence. On the other hand, Bowling was charged with receiving stolen property. Despite the gravity of the accusations, both men maintained their innocence during the court proceedings.
Following the plea, Paxton’s bond was set at $50,000, while Bowling’s bond was twice that amount at $100,000. The court set their next appearance for July 15, giving them time to prepare for the legal battle ahead.
The saga began when a FedEx employee dropped off a package containing 54 precious vintage baseball cards at the Strongsville hotel on April 17. The cards, valued at an astonishing $2,123,447, were meant for Memory Lane Inc., a company participating in a nearby sports card conference.
However, when a representative from Memory Lane Inc. went to collect the package on April 18, it was nowhere to be found. This sparked an immediate police investigation into the mysterious disappearance of the valuable baseball cards.
Through diligent detective work, Strongsville police uncovered that Paxton had been rifling through incoming packages at the hotel and had spirited away the coveted baseball cards to Bowling’s residence in Cleveland. A search warrant executed on May 23 at Bowling’s home led to the recovery of 52 out of the 54 stolen cards.
Unfortunately, two of the cards, a 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson and a 1941 Ted Williams, still elude authorities. These missing pieces of the collection are crucial to completing the set and recovering the full value of the stolen merchandise.
To aid in the recovery effort, individuals with any information about the whereabouts of the missing baseball cards are urged to reach out to the Strongsville Police at 440.580.3247. Be sure to reference report #2024-000693 when providing any relevant details that could help in the search for these irreplaceable pieces of baseball history.
