A 36-year-old man from Wilmington, North Carolina, has been sentenced to over 10 years in prison for his role in a January heist that saw $21,000 worth of Pokémon cards stolen from a local video game shop. The sentencing occurred on June 29.
According to North Carolina District Attorney James W. Smith, the incident unfolded at Video Game Time, where the accused, Joseph Trevor Wilson, pepper-sprayed and tied up an employee. Surveillance footage indicated Wilson was also armed with a gun during the robbery, from which he fled with both the Pokémon cards and cash. Authorities apprehended Wilson five days later during a traffic stop, during which a BB pistol and drugs were found. A notebook seized from Wilson contained a drawing of a Pokémon symbol on the calendar date of the robbery, with the word "payday" written alongside it. He entered a guilty plea to charges including robbery with a dangerous weapon, second-degree kidnapping, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The stolen Pokémon cards were later recovered after two individuals attempted to sell them at a video game store in Fayetteville. Wilson reportedly stated that the robbery was an effort to settle a debt with these two individuals, who have not been publicly identified.
This case highlights a concerning trend of robberies motivated by the high resale value of Pokémon cards. In a separate incident just days before Wilson's sentencing, a father and son were robbed of $150,000 in Pokémon cards and $12,000 in cash while vending at a hobby showcase. The duo were allegedly threatened with a gun by two assailants as they were packing up their inventory. The previous month, another man was accused of using a chainsaw to steal Pokémon cards.
The Pokémon Company has reportedly implemented stricter measures for obtaining its Trading Card Game products, likely in response to these ongoing criminal activities and the persistent issue of scalping.