A Louisiana man who was part of a burglary crew that stole more than $100,000 in collectible baseball cards from a Panama City business in 2023 was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to make $183,000 in restitution Monday.
State Attorney Larry Basford said Leon Rowe Jr., 31, of Louisiana, is the first of the four defendants to go to trial in any of the cases. A second defendant here pled to his charges and testified against Rowe. Rowe was found guilty on Sept. 19 of Grand Theft (more than $100,000) and sentenced Monday by Senior Judge Joe Grammer.
A third defendant is awaiting trial and the fourth has not been captured.
Prosecutor Zachary VanDyke said Rowe and was part of a burglary and theft spree involving gaming and collectible stores that stretched from Panama City west to Louisiana in late 2022 and early 2023. The three defendants in the Panama City case are from the same area of Louisiana.
“In 2 minutes, they destroyed a business that a man spent decades building,” VanDyke said. “We are glad the perpetrator has been held accountable and that restitution has been ordered. But we understand nothing can replace what this victim lost.”
In the Panama City case, the defendants took hundreds of collector’s cards ranging from a 1955 Sandy Koufax ($4,500) to a 1954 Hank Aaron ($4,000). The collection included 65 Mickey Mantles, 34 Hank Aarons, 11 Whitey Fords, and cards from Tom Seaver, Roger Maris, Nolan Ryan, and Johnny Bench.
RELATED: Rowe Guilty in theft of $100K in baseball trading cards
RELATED: GA man imprisoned for 2004 sex assault on teen
In the Panama City case, surveillance video showed a man swinging a large hammer at the glass entrance door and kicking a hole in it. Four men wearing gloves and with their faces covered rushed through the hole, with at least two grabbing collectible bats to smash the glass cases inside.
Following that, there was a string of similar thefts across the Gulf Coast. DNA found at one crime scene in Alabama was matched to Rowe and Cedric Vondo, 37, also of Louisiana. Vondo gave a statement incriminating himself, Rowe, and another co-defendant.
Basford thanked the law enforcement network across the Gulf Coast that collaborated in connecting the cases, and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for its work on a similar case that assisted the Panama City Police Department’s case.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.