Man Hides Overnight in Best Buy for Early Pokemon Card Release
▼ Summary
– A 45-year-old California man, Patrick Keys, was arrested for burglary after hiding in a Best Buy overnight before a Pokemon card release.
– Employees noticed Keys inside the store on a live feed shortly after 1 AM on April 29, leading to police being called.
– Pokemon fans camping outside the Best Buy for the 151 drop were baffled, indicating Keys was trying to get the cards before others.
– The Pokemon card craze continues, with scalpers going to great lengths for valuable collectibles, some selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
– This incident follows previous thefts, such as thieves stealing $180,000 worth of Pokemon cards by tunneling into a California collectibles store.
A 45-year-old California man was arrested after allegedly hiding inside a Best Buy overnight, waiting for a new Pokémon card release to hit the shelves the next morning.
The enduring Pokémon card craze, which first exploded in the 1990s, continues to generate headlines with increasingly bizarre incidents. With certain cards now fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars, collectors and scalpers alike have resorted to extreme measures to secure rare Pokémon TCG collectibles.
Past reports have documented fistfights and heated confrontations among fans queuing for new drops. But this latest case stands out because the suspect reportedly bypassed the line entirely,only to end up in handcuffs.
According to NBC, police responded to a Best Buy just after 1 AM on April 29 after store employees spotted a man inside the building on a live security feed. Officers worked with a staff member to gain entry and arrested Patrick Keys, 45, on a burglary charge.
Outside the store, a crowd of Pokémon fans had been camping overnight for the highly anticipated 151 drop. They watched in disbelief as the scene unfolded. “I was just here for some Pokemon drop, but I went to the restroom. Not even 15 minutes, and there was cops everywhere,” one witness told NBC, adding that the man appeared to be trying to snag the cards before anyone else.
While hiding in a big-box store after hours is a novel approach, it follows a pattern of increasingly brazen thefts targeting the Pokémon trading card market. Earlier in 2026, thieves stole roughly $180,000 worth of Pokémon cards by tunneling through the wall of a California collectibles shop during an overnight burglary.
(Source: Dexerto)
