A Forest Lake, Minnesota, gaming store owner let out a sigh of relief this week after two men were arrested for nearly pulling off a $250,000 Pokémon card heist at his business.
Punch Out Gaming is located in a strip mall and is owned by Eric Johnson and his twin brother Mike Johnson. The store specializes in video gaming, but also carries Pokémon and other trading cards.
The space next to Punch Out Gaming is vacant and was also crucial to how two men were able to enter the space and get away with over $250,000 worth of sealed Pokémon product in February 2022.
Pokémon trading cards. (iStock)
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“We came in one morning and the alarms had never triggered or anything because they ended up breaking in through the back door of the neighboring spot, then cutting holes through the wall and entering our two storage unit rooms,” Eric Johnson told Fox News Digital. “They were here for about three hours. If they would have opened the door from the storage room to our store, it would have triggered the motion sensors. The police station is only a couple blocks away, and they would have come.”
Video of the heist shows a man, later identified as alleged suspect Dustin Wittern, crawling into the storage space. When Wittern notices a camera posted in the room, he attempts to put a piece of paper over the lens, but it falls. He is then seen using tape to put it back over the lens.
A Minnesota game store called Punch Out Gaming in Forest Lake had over $250,000 worth of Pokémon cards and products stolen from its storage space. (Eric Johnson of Punch Out Gaming)
The tape, Johnson said, captured the suspect’s fingerprints, as did a box cutter left in the unit and a pair of scissors used during the nearly three-hour period.
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The next morning, Johnson arrived in the store, opened the storage unit room and saw a big hole in the wall and discovered the missing products.
“It’s absolutely insane,” he said.
FOX 9 in Minneapolis reported that Matthew Cuypers and Wittern worked together to break into the store, and according to the criminal charges, they allegedly stole $150,000 in Pokémon card packs and merchandise.
Assorted Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon trading game cards. (iStock)
Both men face third-degree burglary charges.
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Investigators were led to the two men after they left behind DNA and fingerprints during the robbery.
The DNA, Johnson said, took about 10 months to come back.
Still, after about two weeks, the Johnson brothers had obtained the two suspects’ Facebook pages, phone numbers, addresses, and their past criminal history, which they provided to the detective.
Even with that information, though, the detective needed the DNA to solidify the case.
The store posted to its Facebook page Tuesday that Cuypers and Wittern were in custody.
“After waiting over a year of us knowing who these guys were, they have finally started the court process,” the post reads. “Thank you to everyone who helped us out with this case. We appreciate those who gave us information and leads on who they are. And a BIG thank you to the community for standing behind us during those tough times.”
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The post added that the store’s insurance was able to reimburse the cost of the product, which as not been found. Even if it is found, the insurance company would “technically” own it.
