A 35-year-old man who is suspected of stealing trading cards from Walmart is facing charges of theft and robbery, according to court documents.
Michael H. Brown of Auburn, Washington appeared in Island County Superior Court April 1. A judge found probable cause existed to believe Brown may have committed the crimes of robbery in the second degree and theft in the third degree.
The judge set Brown’s bail at $5,000 and ordered him not to go near Walmart.
A deputy from the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a theft at the Oak Harbor Walmart on the afternoon of March 16. According to the deputy’s report, the store’s asset protection specialist informed the deputy that a man had grabbed the arm of one of the employees in an aggressive manner.
The employee who had been assaulted told the deputy that she had confronted a man who was taking some boxes from the self-checkout, according to the report. When she asked to see his receipt, he squeezed her arm, telling her not to touch his stuff, and left the store.
Video security footage from Walmart showed the man taking several boxes of cards and placing them into a cart before being approached by the employee that he grabbed, the report states. The shoplifted items included 15 packs of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards and 24 packs of card covers totaling $407.
The man, who was later identified as Brown, returned to Walmart again on March 29, according to the deputy’s report. The deputy confronted him while he was in the store; Brown’s cart contained more packs of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and an Xbox Live card. Brown was arrested and escorted out of the store.
The deputy noted that Brown has an extensive criminal history, including burglary, identity theft and possessing stolen property, among many other things.