A 17-time felon added an 18th conviction to his resume Monday when he pleaded guilty to stealing baseball cards worth tens of thousands of dollars. Scott Meherg, 44, pleaded guilty to theft in exchange for a six-year prison sentence from Judge Mary Margaret Brosnahan.
In the early morning darkness of May 31, 2022, a burglar removed bricks and security bars from a window and entered Elite Sports Cards & Comics, 2028 West Montrose. He collected 32 high-value cards and then fled, officials said.
Owner Ronnie Holloway discovered the break-in when he arrived around 9:30 that morning. He pulled up the store’s surveillance video, which showed a man wearing long sleeves, gloves and a mask clearing display cases and shelves.
He recognized the figure as a man who had visited the store about five times in the weeks leading up to the theft. The man was wearing a hoodie and baseball cap and talked for about 15 minutes before leaving.
Prosecutors alleged that Meherg sold some of the stolen cards for a fraction of their actual value, with the first transactions occurring before the break-in was discovered.
Just two hours after the crime, someone contacted a collector about selling high-value cards and they met at a Dunkin’ Donuts that morning to make a deal, prosecutors said. The buyer allegedly gave Meherg $11,500 in cash and a collectible card worth $7,000 for ten cards stolen from Elite hours earlier.
Days later, the buyer saw media coverage of the break-in and contacted Elite to report that he had already resold five cards from the store, but had purchased five more cards in the transaction.
He gave the remaining items to police: two Mickey Mantle cards and one each of Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra and Jim Brown, according to court records.
Police license plate readers and other evidence led investigators to Meherg. Elite’s owner also confirmed that Meherg was the man who had visited the store several times before the burglary.
During an interview with police, Meherg admitted to selling the cards to the man at Dunkin’, but denied breaking into the store. Prosecutors said his 17 previous felony convictions include burglary, forgery, theft and identity theft.
Mehreg’s six-year sentence is reduced to three years for good behavior. It will be reduced by an additional 516 days for time spent in jail and on an ankle monitor, as well as for credit for participating in jail programming.
