Covetous Collector Confesses to Pokemon Theft
Sheriff’s officials announced Friday that they had cracked a case of “grand theft Pokemon”--tracking down 161 trading cards that had been confiscated, and then lost, by a local school.
The owner of the cards, 11-year-old Rudy Donithan-Treat, was awarded $1,500 in Small Claims Court last week after a judge determined that the school bore responsibility for loss of the cards, which are popular with many children.
Authorities in Contra Costa County, 30 miles east of San Francisco, said another student had stepped forward, accompanied by his mother, with an album of purloined Pokemons.
“Rudy Treat was supposed to pick up the cards at the end of the school day from officials. But another student got there before him and identified himself as Rudy. . . . The Pokemon trading cards were inadvertently handed to the impostor,” said Investigator Andy Van Zelf.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jimmy Lee said the case had been classified as grand theft and referred to the district attorney’s office for review and possible prosecution.
“We still have to proceed on this as a criminal case,” Lee said. He said it was unclear whether the discovery would affect the judge’s earlier award.
“It’s between the school, the parents and the judge to decide what to do,” Lee said.
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