'Pokémon Bandit' Busted After Crash In Vallejo: Police

VALLEJO, CA — A robber police have dubbed the “Pokémon Bandit” was arrested and charged last week after trying to steal trading cards and pepper-spraying his victims, according to authorities.

Vallejo police received a report on July 7 of a disturbance in the 100 block of Nugent Drive, where two people met a buyer to sell trading cards valued at $2,600 after communicating through an online marketplace, authorities said.

When asked to confirm the transaction, the buyer told the sellers he had already sent the payment and tried to flee via electric scooter with the cards, according to police, who said the buyer also pepper-sprayed a seller in the face when the person attempted to stop him.

The victims recovered their property, but the robber got away, police said, adding that the suspect description, location and method of assault were all similar to two other recent robberies and noting that multiple victims were able to pick the robber out of a photo lineup.

The next night, officers responded to a crash near Tuolumne and Broadway streets and found that one of the people in the collision matched the description of the robber, according to police.

The person was detained, booked into Solano County jail and charged with robbery and assault with a chemical agent, police said, adding that evidence collected during the arrest included a ski mask, an electric scooter and a cellphone.