Madison County, AL, police have arrested Joseph Laudano, 31, on theft charges relating to a number of card thefts in the area, including one at NerdStop in Hazel Green, AL, WHNT reports. In an earlier story, NerdStop owner Titus Wagner told WHNT that his store was hit twice and the alleged thief was a customer. “He has hit many other stores since then, and I found out that not only did he visit upwards to 20 other stores in this area, but he had stolen from at least 10 of them, if not more, besides the couple that we know of right now,” Wagner said.
Meanwhile, police in Washington Township, NJ, have charged Rafael Gordian, 31, with burglary and attempted burglary following a series of card store break-ins in South Jersey, 6ABC.com reports. These include a break-in at Lurk Cards and Collectibles on July 29, in which about $1,000 worth of Pokémon cards were taken, a burglary at Frank’s Card Shop on July 1 that netted the thieves about $10,000 worth of Pokémon cards, and an unsuccessful attempt to break in to Frank’s on July 10. Shortly after that attempted break-in, police pulled Gordian over in a traffic stop, and they later connected him to the incident. They are also looking for an unidentified confederate.
Stark Trading Co. of Silsbee, TX, is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of four burglars who broke into the store on July 21 and made off with most of the store’s inventory, KFDM reports, including personal items belonging to the owner. The owner addressed the thieves directly on social media, saying, “To our criminal foes, we have you on video, we hear your voices, police have been informed and we will find you. Turn yourselves in.”
Chronos Games & Gifts of Beaverton, OR, put its Yu-Gi-Oh events on pause for a week because, according to an announcement on their Discord, “We have had issues with people mistreating the restrooms and multiple bad reviews because of poor hygiene.” UPI, which reported on the suspension of the games, notes that Konami specifically addresses that point in its tournament guidelines, stating “Neglecting to wash or put on clean clothes contributes to an unpleasant atmosphere at the event” and noting that players may be asked to leave.
Paul Perez, owner of the newly opened Big Rock Tabletop in Morro Bay, CA, tells Estero Bay News that after 21 years in the Air Force and a second career as a probation officer, he went into retailing after his wife died. “I found another direction in life,” he said. Perez also owns Cosmic Heroes in San Luis Obispo; he chose Morro Bay for his second store, he said, because “I didn’t want to go into my rivals’ territory, and I wanted to branch out to a city without a shop.”
Foxfire Games of Fort Collins, CO, held its grand opening on August 1. Co-owners Matthew Wuthrich and Conrad Ross told the Coloradoan that they picked a spot near Colorado State University in hopes of attracting both students and hobbyists; they recently moved to Colorado from the Bay Area.
Rip City Trading Cards and Collectibles of Waite Park, MN, opened its doors in July. Co-owners Hunter Branson and Ben Kotula told WJON that they had been hosting conventions together for years before opening the store.
And WWLP reports on IcyBear Trading Card Games & Collectibles, which opened its doors in early July in Westfield, MA.
Source: ICv2
