A construction worker brought 1,300 stolen Iowa Lottery tickets into the Quad-Cities and cashed them at several stops in the area before Bettendorf police caught up with him, police say.
Joshua Andrew Jorgensen, 31, was arrested Thursday and faces five felony charges related to illegal use of the lottery tickets. An investigation by the Iowa Lottery Commission and the Bettendorf Police Department showed the following trail of events, according to an affidavit in the case.
Jorgensen came into the possession of 1,300 tickets, stolen from the Petro & More Shell gas station located in Grandview, Iowa. The tickets were for various games and face values. Also taken at the time were chewing tobacco and alcohol. The ticket theft was reported to the Iowa Lottery, and an investigator began tracking their use.
At 6:03 p.m. April 13, Jorgensen went to Bettendorf and redeemed 10 of the tickets at the Hy-Vee food store, 2900 Devils Glen Road. He received $20 in winnings.
At 6:17 p.m., Jorgensen went to Express Lane Gas & Food, 2911 Devils Glen Road, Bettendorf, and redeemed 35 of the tickets to net $87 in winnings.
Jorgensen next went to One Stop Express Mart, 3469 Middle Road, Bettendorf, at 6:31 p.m. Store video shows him entering the store while the only employee at the business was outside, helping another customer at the gas pumps.
Jorgensen was videotaped as he reached over the store's counter and removed one "Make My Year" $10 Iowa Lottery ticket and put it in his pocket, without paying for it. He subsequently redeemed 21 more of the stolen tickets and received $124 in winnings.
At 5:06 a.m. April 14, Jorgensen was videotaped at Casey's General Store, 11200 140th St., Davenport. At that point, he redeemed 11 tickets and received $46 in winnings. He then passed the "Make My Year" ticket that he had taken the previous day and redeemed that one for $20, according to documents.
A search warrant was issued for a home in Danville, Iowa, where Jorgensen is temporarily residing, with a roommate, on a construction job near Burlington, Iowa. Officers located numerous Iowa Lottery tickets in the residence, as well as Jorgensen's vehicle. It was the same vehicle he was videotaped in during the Quad-City transactions, according to the affidavit.
After being arrested by Bettendorf police, Jorgensen was booked into the Scott County Jail. He was released on $5,000 bond after serving more than two hours in the jail.
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looks dumb enough. Those video camera's are Everywhere dude. Next time- look up, maybe you did dummy!
What was he thinking? He was going to cash all those low value tickets, and think no one would be the wiser. He left breadcrumbs straight to his residence. Stupid.
"redeemed 35 of the tickets to net $87 in winnings."
Those tickets weren't worth buying let alone stealing, he was going to lose no matter which way he went.
Those scratch off tickets weren't really worth much at all. It seems that he was getting on average between $3-$7 per winning ticket. This guys doesn't appear to be too bright as the time spent driving around to cash those tickets could have been better utilized by actually doing his construction job.
This is the face of substance abuse. Kleptomania is in his blood. Iowa lottery is turning into the paragon of all lotteries. Kudos to them.
Iowa man burns $150 in gasoline to collect $87 in winnings from stolen lottery tickets. "Next time," he says, "I'll stick to robbing vending machines. It's safer and pays more."
What a dope.
Give him 25 years and deport him back to Sweden when he gets out.
less than 300 total dollars, goes to show that crime does not pay
He reminds me of the Redleg that was huntin' Josey Wales.
Lock 'em up.
Yeah, I gave him a nickname.. Von Patel.
Lol...the most stupid crook I've ever heard!
His luck ran out when he got caught, but he might get lucky again in prison. Though I believe it probably won't be the luck he wants.
He better pray the Prison doesn't use liquid soap because it's harder to pick up.
Hardly worth it.
Maybe he should try stealing one of those get out of jail free tickets.