Two brothers from Birmingham have admitted stealing more than £71,000 worth of Pokémon cards from specialist shops, with police describing how they 'caught 'em all' after an extensive investigation.
Details of the Burglaries
Keith Johnson, 33, and Shane Johnson, 37, targeted Celestial Collectables on Lovely Lane in Warrington, Cheshire, on April 8 this year. The shop specialises in rare and high-value Pokémon trading cards, memorabilia, and other collectible items that are limited in number or rare to collectors.
Police were alerted to the break-in following reports that the shop's door window was being smashed and the shop was being ransacked. On arrival, officers entered through the broken doorway and discovered Pokémon cards strewn across the floor. Crime Scene Investigators recovered a crowbar from the scene which had been used to smash the glass in the front door and shelving and cabinets.
The items stolen were mainly Pokémon cards, valued at £62,000, and damage caused to the shop itself was in excess of £3,000. CCTV showed a white Ford Transit van was used in the burglary but was on cloned number plates.
Investigation and Arrests
The van had travelled from Birmingham to Warrington on the day of the burglary. Prior to this, it had been captured parked outside Keith's address. Following the burglary, the van was found on East Avenue in Stockton Heath with a number of Pokémon cards, a box with the shop logo on it, along with tools and items for going equipped to a burglary. CCTV enquiries showed that the van had broken down and the brothers had to push it along London Road in Warrington onto East Avenue, where another waiting van had travelled up from Birmingham. They transferred their haul into the other van, which was later found parked near Shane's address.
The brothers then struck at The Graded Gallery in Rugby, again using a crowbar to break into the shop and cause significant damage to the interior as they stole various items including Pokémon cards. They left in a Nissan X-Trail, and the total stock stolen and damage caused amounted to more than £9,000.
Sentencing and Police Comment
Following the Rugby burglary, West Midlands Police informed Cheshire colleagues that the Nissan X-Trail involved was parked outside Keith's address. West Midlands officers attended to arrest the two men, and a search of the property recovered the keys to the van used in the Warrington burglary, stolen property belonging to Celestial Collectables, keys to the Nissan X-Trail, and more stolen property from other commercial burglaries. The clothes they were wearing at the time of the Warrington burglary—including Shane's trainers—were also recovered.
Keith Johnson, of Brookwood Avenue, Birmingham, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on July 2 after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary with intent to steal. He was sentenced to 29 months in prison. Shane Johnson, of no fixed address, admitted the same offences and will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on July 31.
DC Hannah Smith, of Cheshire Police, said: 'The overwhelming evidence collected through our extensive enquiries 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.'
