Four East Bay residents — three adults and a juvenile — were taken into custody Friday following a heist of LEGOs worth $3,500. And the crew was easily caught because they were in a car they rented through a third-party app.

Some less-than-seasoned (alleged) criminals were arrested Friday after a robbery at the LEGO Store at the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo. The robbery, which sounds like a grab-and-go type affair, occurred around 11:27 a.m., as San Mateo police reported on Facebook. It does not sound as though the suspects were armed at the time, though that is unclear.

The suspects were reportedly seen getting into a Volkswagen Jetta by a "vigilant employee" of the LEGO Store, and it sounds like they must've taken down a plate number as well. Because police soon figured out that the owner of the Jetta had rented the vehicle out through a third-party app, and they were able to track the vehicle as it was "traveling through multiple counties."

The Jetta was, in fact, in San Francisco later that afternoon, and San Francisco police stepped in to make the arrests around 4:10 p.m. Friday. The SFPD says they found a handgun in the car, leading them to impound it. And evidence of the LEGO Store theft was allegedly in the vehicle also. ($3,500 should be able to buy you a lot of LEGOs!)

The three adult suspects were taken back to San Mateo County and booked into jail there on Friday, while the juvenile was released into the custody of their parents.

The adult suspects, all residents of Richmond, have been identified as Jose Heredia Lopez, Karlos Mason, and Makayla Wells Melgoza. All three are set to be charged with the robbery, and San Mateo police say that charges relating to the gun are still pending investigation.

Photo: Xavi Cabrera