A Florida man has been arrested and charged with theft at Walmart, after stealing Pokemon merchandise from a store on North Missouri Avenue.
As reported by WFLA News Channel 8, the individual detained by police is from the Belleair Bluffs area, located in Pinellas County, Florida.
His name is Tyler Branson, aged 35, and police state he started stealing multiple Pokemon items from shelves starting July 1, 2022.
Branson allegedly used a specific strategy to take the items away from the store without paying, which involved cards from Magic The Gathering.
It has been alleged that he took the items to the self-checkout line in Walmart without any intention to pay for some of them.
He would manipulate the scanner, the report states, by placing the Magic cards he had already scanned above the non-scanned merch. This meant he was able to bypass the prices being added to his total.
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Then, he tried to leave without security noticing.
An arrest affidavit states that loss prevention detained Branson at 9:43 a.m, following a series of similar incidents.
Mr. Branson has claimed these stolen pieces of Pokemon merchandise were taken as gifts for his family.
Nevertheless, he has been charged with retail theft. According to South Florida Attorney, penalties for petit theft in the state of Florida could include up to a $400 fine and/or imprisonment.
