Brothers steal $81,000 worth of Pokémon cards from gaming shop

By Charlie Fenton

Two brazen brothers stole more than $81,000 worth of Pokémon cards during a raid at a gaming shop.

Shane Johnson, 37, and his younger brother Keith Johnson, 33, used a crowbar to smash their way into Celestial Collectables, in Warrington, Cheshire, on April 8.

The pair were caught on camera hastily walking toward the specialist store's till area and shattering display cases before putting high-value items like trading cards, slabs, packs, and booster boxes into a bag.

The raid lasted over four minutes and left the store "destroyed," according to co-owner Chris Grundy, 30.

Grundy said: "The break-in left me devastated.

"A lot of work has gone into the shop, and for someone to destroy it was heartbreaking really.

"It took us a while to get back on our feet afterwards.

"But hopefully the court result will be a deterrent to anyone else who is thinking about doing the same."

The store specializes in rare and high-value Pokémon cards along with other limited-edition collectible memorabilia relating to trading card games.

Video footage from the next day shows the door, wall cabinets, and the counter "obliterated" with smashed glass and cards, packs and boxes strewn on the floor.

Cheshire Police said they were alerted to the break-in following reports the shop door window was being smashed and the shop was being ransacked.

Officers found the items stolen were mainly Pokémon cards to the value of $81,000 and damage caused to the shop itself was in excess of $4,000.

CCTV showed the brothers had used a white Ford Transit van for the burglary, which was on cloned number plates.

Detectives discovered the van had traveled from Birmingham to Warrington on the day of the crime and had previously been captured parked up outside Keith’s address.

The vehicle was later found containing a number of Pokémon cards, a box with the shop's logo on it along with tools and items for going equipped to a burglary.

CCTV inquiries also showed the getaway van had broken down and the brothers had to push the vehicle to another waiting van which had traveled up from Birmingham.

They transferred their haul into the other van which was later found parked up near Shane’s address.

The brothers then struck at The Graded Gallery in Rugby, Warwickshire, on April 14 and where they again used a crowbar to break in and cause significant damage to the interior as they stole various items including Pokémon cards.

The total stock stolen and damage caused was more than $12,000 and this time they fled in a Nissan X-Trail.

The Nissan X-Trail involved in the burglary was later parked outside Keith's property where the two men were later arrested.

A search recovered the keys to the van used in the Warrington burglary along with stolen property belonging to Celestial Collectables.

The keys to the Nissan X-Trail and more stolen property from other commercial burglaries were also found.

Both brothers went on to plead guilty to two counts of burglary with intent to steal.

Keith Johnson, from Yardley Wood, Birmingham, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on July 2 where he was sentenced to 29 months imprisonment.

Shane Johnson, of no fixed address, will be sentenced at the same court on July 31.

Detective Constable Hannah Smith, from Cheshire Police, said after the case: “The overwhelming evidence collected through our extensive inquiries put them at both crime scenes giving them no choice but to plead guilty.

"The brothers will now have to pay the price for their part in their criminal Pokémon enterprise.”