Two masked burglars smashed through the front of a Minnesota gaming store and escaped within approximately 90 seconds with Pokémon merchandise valued at as much as $50,000.
Surveillance footage from Punch-Out Gaming in Forest Lake shows the pair breaking a window shortly before 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 25. Once inside, they emptied display cases and pulled high-value sealed products from shelves.
The store estimated that between $30,000 and $50,000 in merchandise was taken. Police had not identified the suspects or announced any arrests.
The Burglars Were Gone in About 90 Seconds
An alarm woke co-owner Mike Johnson and alerted him to the break-in, according to CBS Minnesota. Security footage showed two people wearing face coverings and hats tearing down a Pikachu graphic before breaking through the storefront window.
They moved directly toward the store’s display cases and higher-value inventory. Johnson estimated that the pair remained inside for only about a minute and a half. “They were out of here in probably a minute and a half,” he told the station.
Most of the stolen merchandise consisted of Pokémon cards, although the burglars also removed expensive sealed products stored along a wall.
The Store Estimated Its Loss at $30,000 to $50,000
Punch-Out Gaming placed the stolen inventory’s value between $30,000 and $50,000. Johnson told FOX 9 that the financial loss is complicated by the way collectible products appreciate.
A sealed Pokémon product that originally cost the store approximately $100 may now be worth $500, he explained. Even after an insurance payment, the store could have difficulty finding identical cards and sealed products at their earlier acquisition prices.
Punch-Out Gaming remained open after the burglary. Employees refilled much of the emptied display space, while the broken window was boarded over. Johnson expected the replacement glass to take approximately one week.
The Same Store Lost About $250,000 in 2022
Punch-Out Gaming suffered a much larger burglary in February 2022. In that case, burglars entered a neighboring business, cut through a shared wall and removed approximately $250,000 in Pokémon cards and other collectibles.
The store later expanded into the neighboring unit and installed additional cameras, alarms and sensors. Johnson said insurance covered the earlier financial loss, but the stolen cards were never recovered.
Two men were charged in connection with that break-in. Matthew James Cuypers Jr. was sentenced to one year in jail. The burglary case against Dustin Anthony Wittern was later dismissed after he received a federal prison sentence of more than 10 years in an unrelated drug-trafficking case.
Other Card Stores Have Reported Similar Break-Ins
The Forest Lake burglary followed other recent thefts targeting trading-card businesses in the Twin Cities area. Approximately one month earlier, burglars stole an estimated $25,000 in high-value Pokémon cards from an arcade in Eagan.
A Wisconsin card store was also burglarized days before the Punch-Out Gaming break-in. That business estimated its loss at between $30,000 and $50,000, although authorities had not publicly connected the incidents.
The latest Punch-Out Gaming suspects appeared to leave in a gold-colored minivan missing three hubcaps. No arrests had been announced.
Certification Numbers May Help Identify Some Stolen Cards
Certification numbers could help identify a card if someone attempts to sell it online or trade it to another store that compares the item with records connected to the burglary.
Collectors and retailers can record certification numbers, photograph the front and back of graded card holders and retain invoices before a theft occurs. After a loss, an itemized list can be provided to police, insurers, nearby card shops and marketplaces where the merchandise may be resold.
The PSA Certification Verification tool, for example, displays information such as the card’s year, set, subject, grade and certification number.
PSA warns that finding a valid number does not eliminate risk because counterfeit holders can copy certification details from legitimate cards. The company recommends buying verified collectibles from trustworthy sellers and comparing the database information with the physical card and holder.