It appears as if the case of the missing LA Lakers Championship rings finally has come to an end.
Nearly one month ago, it was reported that a pair of Lakers ’09 and ’10 Championship rings, along with team memorabilia and valued at more than $10,000 in gift cards went missing from the Lakers’ practice facility.
This past week, El Segundo police has arrested Lakers team facilities security guard Eddie Monterossa after discovering the two championship rings at his Inglewood home during the investigation.
Ironically, he rings were identical replacements to what the actual players receive but are kept just in case of damage or theft.
The gift cards were from major retailers like Macy’s and Target and were to be donated to charities and given as gifts from the team to those in need during the holidays.
Police reportedly only recovered around $6,000 in stolen gift cards. During interrogation, Monterossa admitted to spending the cards on video games and game consoles and also sold some for cash.
Monterroso was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office with felony grand theft and burglary.
Monterroso does not have any prior convictions and worked at the training center for about a year before his arrest. Detectives said Monterroso admitted to his role in the crime during questioning, and was “very apologetic.”
H/T: LA Times
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
