Man Reportedly Stole $40,000 Worth of Games, Equipment, and a Minigun From Valve

A man was recently charged with a count of burglary and a count of trafficking stolen property after he allegedly stole $40,000 worth of goods from Valve, according to police in Bellevue, Washington. Shawn Shaputis, 32, reportedly broke into Valve’s Bellevue office and made off with games, consoles, computers, and other items that amounted to a value of over $40,000. The alleged crimes initially took place on June 17, 2018, and Shaputis was charged this year on September 25th.

Polygon (and local news station KIRO7) reported on the incident and had details from the police regarding how the alleged crime happened and what was stolen. Shaputis reportedly took around 20 Asus laptops along with Nintendo Switches and Steam machine consoles. As for the games, he’s said to have taken 15 Xbox One games and 23 PlayStation 4 games from the office. A “metal mini gun looking thing” was also stolen among other “random items.” Some may recall that Valve CEO Gabe Newell was seen holding the minigun in question within a Forbes feature from years ago. So much was taken that Shaputis told police he couldn’t remember what all was grabbed from the office.

The office in question was located at the Lincoln Square South and was accessed by entering a restaurant before Shaputis found his way up to the eleventh floor last year. This space was described as an “unfinished floor” where things were prepped for events.

One of the most interesting parts of the case is what Shaputis tried to do with the items after they were stolen. A video obtained by KIRO7 showed the man heading into a local GameStop to sell off the stolen games. He reportedly got $336 for selling 43 games, the police told Polygon. The rest of the items were stored in a vehicle where they were then located by the police.

Shaputis is scheduled to appear in court today on October 9th for the charges he faces. At the time of his arrest, he had six active warrants out in his name. Another incident involving Shaputis within Bellevue took place last year when the man was said to have stolen a FedEx truck before leading police on a chase. Filled with packages, the trucks rear doors opened and spilled its contents out onto the roadways before the chase ended in Seattle.