The Charles County Sheriff’s Office has released information about the case of a lottery ticket thief who tried to cash in a quick buck but ended up in a world of trouble.
Police Details the Bizarre Story of a Lottery Thief Who Didn’t Know How Tickets Work
The police responded to a signal about a black man who stole lottery tickets at a Sunoco gas station in Waldorf on February 26, 2026. The thief had asked for a pack of cigarettes when the cashier turned away from him, and the perpetrator grabbed a bunch of tickets and exited the premises.
The ticket value was not all that great – around $4,000, but police received another tip – presumably the same perpetrator had robbed another venue, making away with $6,000 worth of lottery tickets.
What the perpetrator didn’t know was that each ticket carries a unique serial number, meaning that the lottery knows what tickets are where exactly at any given time.
When a theft occurs, the Maryland Lottery can simply refer to these unique numbers and void them, so money cannot be claimed this way.
Lottery sales of points are often the target of desperate criminals, with one similar case transpiring in February, when a man walked into a store at the Circle and Constitution Avenue in Colorado, and held a clerk at gunpoint while he made away with scratch tickets.
Man Arrested in Connection to Theft, Charged with Two Counts of Felony
However, the lottery chose not to. The idea was to lure the person into cashing in some of the tickets, which would have been undoubtedly winners, and this is precisely what happened.
The suspect was not aware that the stolen tickets would be immediately flagged upon his attempting to redeem them (which is what happened).
Eventually, police were able to apprehend him, having identified him as one T. L. Jr., and charged him with two counts of theft between $1,500 and $25,000.
In February, Brothers Quinton Watts and Phillip Watts were handed down lengthy prison sentences by the Columbia County Superior Court and Judge Barry A.
Fleming found them guilty on multiple charges, including racketeering, lottery ticket fraud, theft by taking, and possession of tools for the commission of a crime.
