Pokemon TCG robber accused of reselling stolen cards to the same store
The crimes committed this year with Pokemon trading cards have been unprecedented, but none of the suspects have been as bold as 37-year-old Myles Vaughn Pajnogac.
Near midnight on August 9, a trading card shop reported to the Bellingham Herald that it had been burglarized, with more than $20,000 worth of merchandise reported missing.
After breaking the store’s front glass door, the suspect allegedly entered. After stealing some Pokemon and MTG cardss, he ran off into the night.
One month later, on September 3, a store employee alerted the police because a man named Pajnogac was trying to resell stolen goods.
Lt. Claudia Murphy of the Bellingham Police Department stated that Pajnogac left the business after being confronted by the clerk about the stolen cards, but not before yelling, “I’ll rob you again.”
Fortunately for the police and the employee, Pajnogac panicked and left the cards in the store, where they were easily identified as duplicates of the stolen cards.
The cops tracked down Pajnogac later that evening and found he was in possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine. The police also found another $8,000 worth of stolen Pokemon trading cards.
The suspect was taken into custody on charges of theft, burglary, and trafficking, as well as first-degree malicious mischief and second-degree burglary.
The following day, Pajnogac was released on his own recognisance.
The theft of so many Pokemon cards in Bellingham is hardly an isolated incidence. In February, a man broke into a store and made off with $250,000 worth of credit cards.
