A disagreement about Pokmon cards became a v!cious encounter that led to one man in a hospital and the other two in j@il.
According to police, a man aged 27 years was stabbed by pieces of broken glasses during a fight at a GameStop store in Colma, a tiny town located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of San Francisco. The incident occurred in the morning on the 5 th day of July, Saturday, at about 9.20 a.m when the store was just opening.
The Colma Police Department said officers had been sent to the store after several people called in and yelled about a fight happening inside.
Upon arrival, they encountered a man who had multiple stab wounds and lacerations. He was taken to a local hospital with life threatening injuries and is now stable.
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The Conflict: A Line-Cutting Argument Erupts Into Violence
The odd and threatening assault that proceeded to start supposedly saw one of the suspects, 49-year-old Miguel Orellanas-Flores, trying to skip the line at the GameStop to buy Pokmon trading cards, a hot-and-popular collectible that keeps drawing lines of hopeful and/or cutthroat collectors.
According to police, the victim confronted Orellanas-Flores causing a verbal exchange to occur and rapidly degenerate into physical violence.
Orellanas-Flores, according to an authority statement, had hit the victim in the back of the head with a glass mason jar. When the jar broke, the second suspect, 27-year-old Isaiah Calles, was said to have picked the pieces of the broken glass and repeatedly stabbed the victim.
Witnesses made immediate 911 calls and by the time the police got there both suspects had disappeared in different cars.
Speedy Arrests and Criminal Prosecutions
Due to store surveillance video and witness descriptions, the officers were able to locate and identify the two suspects later in the same day. The two men were arrested without more.
They are Miguel Orellanas-Flores and Isaiah Calles. Both are currently being charged with a serious offense, including:
1.Assault deadly weapon
2.Assault with a deadly weapon infliction of great bodily injury
3.Serious bodily injury battery
4.Conspiracy to commit crime
The two men were arrested and taken to San Mateo County Jail where they are detained. They will be in court on Tuesday, July 8.
Are Pokemon Cards a harmless hobby or an all-consuming obsession?
The case is not one of the first violent attacks related to the sale of Pokemon cards, the popularity of which has been growing again over the last years.
The trading card game, which was launched in the late 1990s, has reached hyper-popularity in the past decade with certain rare cards selling at auction times for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
To cope with the increasing madness about limited-edition card drops, GameStop, Target, and other retailers have introduced limits on how many of the cards could be bought, as well as security restrictions. Stores in other instances, have been compelled to halt face-to-face sales of Pokemon cards because of physical violence and crowd control problems.
The aggression was shocking but not entirely surprising, said Aaron Mendel, who, as long time collector who witnessed part of the aftermath, is a local resident.
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Mendel said, People are crazy about these cards. I have watched people stay overnight to have an opportunity to get one pack. It should be enjoyable, but it has become too serious of late.”
Police: Collectibles Violence Is Not Permitted
The Colma Police Department made it clear that when differences arise violence is never the solution, even when it comes to collectible cards.
The department wrote in its press release that this was a senseless act of violence. We will not allow people who threaten public security because of differences, whatever the cause.
The investigation involves the video surveillance of the store, and further charges may be pressed depending on the result of the medical treatment of the victim and other data.
The identity of the attacked person is not disclosed yet, and the person is reported to recover but be treated with several deep wounds, such as stab injuries in the chest, arms, and back.
GameStop refused to make any official statements regarding this situation but stated in an official release, that the safety of customers and employees is a leading priority.
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