A Florida man has found himself in a tricky situation after being arrested for using a card trick to try and steal Pokémon merchandise from a Walmart store on North Missouri Avenue.
The 35-year-old man, known as Tyler Branson, is said to have been stealing multiple Pokémon-related items since the beginning of July this year, according to local police.
Branson had developed a stealing tactic using playing cards from Magic: The Gathering to get the Poké-merch out of stores without paying.
For those unfamiliar, MTG is a collectable card game, just like Pokemon was originally designed to be, that involves strategic battles and otherworldly, enchanted characters such as elves and warlocks – think along the lines of Dungeons and Dragons but even more complicated.
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By using the self check-outs, Mr. Branson was reportedly able to re-scan already scanned MTG cards and bypass the non-scanned merch being added to his checkout total.
Unfortunately for him, store security had been keeping a close eye on his shifty antics, so when he tried to leave allegedly without paying for the unscanned goods, he was spotted, which eventually led to a loss prevention arrest affidavit.
After being detained by police, Branson claimed that the stolen Pokémon merchandise was to be used as gifts for his family. Maybe he thought this was a justifiable reason, but the South Florida Attorney didn't believe so and charged him with retail theft, meaning he could face fines and/or imprisonment, WFLA reports.
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Perhaps Branson thought he could be bagging himself a future goldmine by stealing the Walmart goods now and saving them as a nest-egg, as Pokémon merch can sell for crazy amounts of money, depending on how rare and desirable it is.
Just ask YouTuber and celebrity wrestler Logan Paul, who recently bought the most expensive Pokémon card in the world at a private auction for a whopping $5,275,000 USD.
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At the time the card was determined the world's most valuable Pokémon card; a Japanese Pikachu Illustrator card designed by the creator of Pikachu herself, which had been originally handed out in 1998 to 39 winners of an art contest.
In a video released earlier this month, Paul explained he came across the card while doing some research and that today 'nobody knows how many copies are left'. A total of 20 have been graded, but of those 20 only one was determined to be in perfect condition. Unsurprisingly, that's the one Paul wanted to get his hands on.
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Harley Young