Forest Lake gaming retailer hit by Pokémon thieves a second time – Twin Cities

Burglars early Saturday smashed the window of a gaming retailer in Forest Lake and stole Pokémon playing cards valued between $30,000 and $50,000, police stated.

It was the second main break-in at Punch-Out Gaming, positioned at 828 Lake St. S. In 2022, a masked intruder, hoping to evade the shop’s 16 safety cameras and quite a few movement detectors, broke into the vacant store subsequent door after which smashed two giant holes via the adjoining wall to achieve entry to the storage rooms and steal greater than $250,000 of Pokémon playing cards.

The current theft occurred round 4 a.m. Saturday.

“Well it happened again!” the house owners of Punch Out Gaming wrote in a post shared on social media on Saturday morning. “Anybody know these 2 clowns? They drive a goldish minivan that’s missing 3 hubcaps.”

Officers from the Forest Lake Police Department responded to the scene after receiving a enterprise alarm, stated Police Chief Luke Hanegraaf. When officers arrived, they discovered a broken window and proof that an obvious housebreaking had occurred, he stated.

“The business was searched, and no occupants were found inside the building,” he stated. “The business was processed for physical evidence, and detectives have been actively working on leads at this time.”

No arrests had been made as of Monday night, he stated.

Two males had been charged with third-degree housebreaking in reference to the theft of greater than $250,000 in Pokémon playing cards from the shop on Feb. 10, 2022, officers stated.

Matthew James Cuypers Jr., 43, of Duluth, pleaded responsible to gross misdemeanor fourth-degree housebreaking and was sentenced to 364 days in jail. A felony cost of aiding and abetting third-degree housebreaking was dismissed as a part of a plea deal.

Charges towards co-defendant Dustin Anthony Wittern, 44, of Forest Lake, had been dismissed after he was sentenced to greater than 11 years in federal jail in an unrelated drug trafficking case.