Er, what? He got it on discount because that set was on clearance. K-Mart doesn't sell incomplete LEGO sets (or at least they shouldn't).
In-store minifig theft has become a much bigger problem in the last year or so because LEGO stopped mixing the minifig parts in with all the other pieces and started putting most of them in one big minifig bag, so they're much easier to steal. I have learned to always double check the tape seals on every set I buy.
I bought the recent Millennium Falcon release from Toys R Us and all the figures were missing except for Luke's head and Ben Kenobi's feet. Probably not coincidentally, the TRU employee who found it for me told me it had just been returned that morning, so clearly whoever it was carefully opened it, snagged the figures, and sealed it back up to return for a full refund. I emailed LEGO a list of the parts missing, and they had replacements for all of them out to me inside of a week, and when some of the parts in the replacement pack were the wrong parts, they fixed that quickly, too.
As long as you have the instructions, which have a code number they'll ask you for, you can get any missing pieces from a new LEGO set replaced. They are exceptionally willing to go the extra mile to make sure you get a complete set. Really impressive customer service.
