An Oakville woman has been accused of a spree of crimes, including a large theft of computer equipment from the Toronto branch of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games. The list of thefts have reportedly taken place from December 24 until January 23, leading to the woman facing 18 charges in total for the string of crimes.
According to official reports, aside from the thefts that occurred at Rockstar, the woman is also suspected to be responsible for a number of automobile break-ins that similarly resulted in stolen property. Though the irony of a company like Rockstar Games being the victim of grand theft is striking, having been known for making outlaw shooters like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, the crime spree is still a shocking site.
Reports of the incident suggest that the woman made off with over $66,000 worth of equipment and accessories from the Rockstar offices. Supposedly, these items had been delivered to the Grand Theft Auto developer, but the suspect managed to take them before the packages could be secured by the company that they were intended for. The exact contents of these packages is currently unknown, and reports do not indicate what has become of the computer equipment that was stolen at the time of this writing.
Among the 18 charges that the woman in question now faces, these include fraudulent use of a credit card, trafficking property obtained by crime, and theft over $5000, which would be considered grand theft in certain jurisdictions. Many of these charges are quite serious and will likely result in considerable punishment for any of the accusations that prosecutors do manage take all the way to court. As for Rockstar Games, the Red Dead Redemption developer has made no public claims about the incident and likely won't release any statements in the future either.
The amount that the woman allegedly stole from the game developer is almost difficult to believe, especially considering that initial reports do not mention an accomplice or other parties involved in the crime spree. Hopefully the stolen property will be able to be returned to Rockstar Games, or at the very least the developer will be able to find reimbursement through insurance. A loss of this much equipment could have set back the Toronto branch of the company back quite a bit as far as development is concerned, especially with it having seemingly disappeared without a trace almost a month ago.
Source: Globalnews