2 men charged in $150K Pokémon card heist in Forest Lake, Minn.

Pokemon heist charges

A brazen robbery in Forest Lake has led to charges for a suspect who is believed to have stolen more than $250,000 in valuable Pokemon cards.

FOREST LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - In Pokémon, the goal is to "catch 'em' all". Now, more than a year after a brazen robbery in Forest Lake, authorities have done just that.

In February of last year, thieves were caught on camera breaking into Punch Out Gaming. Criminal charges state Matthew Cuypers and Dustin Wittern worked together to break into the store, using a knife to cut through drywall, sneaking in through a hole, and stealing $150,000 in Pokémon card packs and merchandise.

Cuypers and Wittern are now facing third-degree burglary charges.

Online sleuths were able to identify the men quickly off the surveillance video, but it took law enforcement a bit longer to make their case.

"Knowing who these guys were for the last 13, 14 months drove us crazy since they were still running around on the streets," said owner Eric Johnson.

In the end, it was what the men left behind at the scene that sealed their fate.

"Once the DNA came...these guys already had huge criminal records, so that helped push it," said Johnson.

Since the heist, the store has made some major security upgrades. They've also leased the space next door where the thieves broke in and are transforming it into a new gaming area.