Man Stole $40k of Gear from Valve Using a Recycle Bin

Every now and then a story comes across my desk that’s just a bit stranger than usual. Today is one of those days. It’s not “tech news” as such, as much as it was “tech theft”. A man in Washington allegedly stole over $40,000 of goods from Valve. You know, the legendary studio that still hasn’t made Half-Life 3!

Valve

What’s amazing is that the suspect, Shawn Shaputis, broke in more than once! He visited the offices multiple times on different occasions with a recycle bin. He simply wheeled it into the office, filled it up, and wheeled it out. He even took a bunch of games he lifted to GameStop to trade for cash. Most likely $20k worth of games for $3.17… Just a guess.

Warrant

He has admitted to breaking into the office. However, he was also arrested for stealing a FedEx truck and leading police on a high-speed chase. This isn’t his first offence either, and amazingly, he’s still out doing it. As KIRO 7 news put it “he keeps getting out of jail”. He’s STILL not in custody and has a court appearance this week. if he fails to make an appearance, they’ll have to put out a warrant. Until then, however, he’s “free” to get up to his old tricks.

Half-Life 3

If he was looking for evidence of Half-Life 3, he obviously didn’t find anything. Or perhaps he did, and this is all a big conspiracy to cover it up… thoughts in the comments please.