Man Sentenced 15 Years for $100K Baseball Card Theft

Christopher Develle Brown, 40, will spend 15 years in prison for stealing more than $100,000 worth of collectible baseball cards from a Panama City business on Feb. 16, 2023.

Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay sentenced Brown on Thursday after a jury convicted him of grand theft over $100,000. The judge also ordered five years of probation and $183,000 in restitution.

Brown was part of a four-person crew that broke into the business and stole hundreds of cards accumulated over 35 years. The collection included a 1955 Sandy Koufax card valued at $4,500, a 1963 Pete Rose card worth $4,000, and a 1954 Hank Aaron card valued at $4,000. The thieves also took 65 Mickey Mantle cards, 34 Hank Aaron cards, and 11 Whitey Ford cards.

Leon Rowe Jr., a second defendant, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. A third defendant accepted a plea agreement to testify against Brown and Rowe. A fourth suspect remains at large.

Investigators believe the crew committed similar burglaries across the Gulf Coast from Florida to Louisiana. State Attorney Larry Basford credited regional law enforcement for connecting the cases.