VALLEJO, Calif. (KRON) A victim trying to sell high-value Pokémon cards during a meetup in Vallejo was pepper sprayed in the face by a robber, who was posing as the buyer, as he attempted to flee on an electric scooter, according to the Vallejo Police Department. The suspect was nabbed after a traffic collision on the following day.
On July 7, two people who were looking to sell Pokémon cards valued at $2,600 arranged to meet an online marketplace buyer in the 100 block of Nugent Drive. As the buyer was holding the cards, he claimed to the sellers that he had already sent payment, police said. The buyer then attempted to flee on the scooter while holding the cards.
“One of the victims attempted to stop the suspect from escaping with the cards, but he was pepper-sprayed directly in the face during the confrontation,” Vallejo PD said. “The suspect then fled the area on the electric scooter.”
The two victims managed to get the cards back.
The victims described the suspect to responding officers, who “recognized that there were two other recent robbery cases that shared the same suspect description, location, and method of assault involving pepper spray,” police said. The suspect was identified by the victims in a photo lineup.
On the following evening, officers responding to a traffic collision near Tuolumne and Broadway streets recognized one of the involved individuals as the suspect in the Pokémon card robbery incident, according to authorities. The suspect was arrested and booked into the Solano County Jail for robbery and assault with a chemical agent.
An electric scooter, ski mask and cellphone were collected from the crash scene as evidence, police said. Officers learned that the suspect lived near the robbery scene.
