Two individuals found themselves in hot water after allegedly swiping over $2 million worth of priceless baseball cards from a Best Western in Strongsville. At the heart of the crime are Jacob Paxton, 27, and Jason Bowling, 50, who both stood before the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and entered pleas of not guilty to their charges.
Jacob Paxton, an employee of the hotel, faces accusations of aggravated theft exceeding $1.5 million and tampering with evidence. The court set his bond at $50,000, with a future court date scheduled for July 15. On the other hand, Jason Bowling, the other defendant in the case, faces a charge of receiving stolen property. He was given a $100,000 bond and will also appear in court on the same day as Paxton.
Prosecutor Michael O’Malley revealed that the unraveling of events began with a FedEx delivery containing 54 vintage baseball cards worth a staggering $2,123,447, intended for Memory Lane Inc. This was on April 17, coinciding with a sports card conference taking place nearby.
However, the plot thickened when upon the arrival of a representative from Memory Lane Inc. to collect the package on April 18, it was discovered missing, igniting a full-blown police investigation in Strongsville.
Evidently, investigations led authorities to Paxton, who had reportedly gone through several packages delivered to the hotel and allegedly proceeded to transport the baseball cards to Bowling’s residence in Cleveland. The police then acted swiftly on May 23, executing a search warrant at Bowling’s home where they successfully retrieved 52 out of the 54 stolen cards.
Despite the recovery, the case has left a couple of cards still unaccounted for — a valuable 1909 Ramly Walter Johnson card and a 1941 Ted Williams card are yet to be found.
Anyone with relevant information regarding the whereabouts of these missing cards is urged to reach out to the Strongsville Police by calling 440.580.3247 and referencing report #2024-000693. The hunt for these missing pieces of baseball history continues as the legal battle unfolds for the accused individuals.
