The man, aged in his 20s, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and admitted a charge of theft in a special relationship. However, he indicated he would be applying for a discharge without conviction in September.
CCTV captured the defendant removing trading cards from packs and taking food and drink without paying between February 21 and March 21 last year, a police summary said.
During his shift at the South Island store he would open trading card packets, stashing cards he wanted in a ‘‘personal pile’’ next to the counter and binning the rest along with the packaging.
At the end of the day, the employee took the cards with him without paying for the packs and sold the valuable cards online.
On multiple occasions, the defendant also falsely processed items as cash transactions when they had not been paid for, the police summary said.
A stocktake revealed there were missing Pokemon and One Piece trading cards as well as other trading card booster packs.
The total value of the missing stock was still being confirmed, but police alleged it was over $20,000.
A person connected to the case summed up the situation as ‘‘pretty crap’’.
The guilty plea was inevitable given the ‘‘mountain of evidence’’ but they now wanted to see ‘‘appropriate punishment’’, the source said.
The source understood the defendant had not repaid the money or apologised to the owner.
‘‘He has not shown, not even remotely, even a sliver of any remorse or apologetic behaviour,’’ they said.
They were opposed to the man being discharged without conviction, especially if it paved the way for him to pursue his desired high-trust career.
‘‘We don’t want to see anybody else get in that same position.’’
The store’s owner spoke to the Otago Daily Times about the theft last year, saying the man’s actions had left him feeling ‘‘absolutely betrayed’’.
‘‘He was a good friend,’’ he said.
After the defendant was caught, he told police he started stealing the trading card packs and boxes from the store in late 2023.
He said initially it was only booster packs he took, but eventually the thefts escalated.
The employee admitted he attempted to conceal the crimes by altering inventory systems to write off or adjust stock in the system to account for what he had been taking.
He sold the cards online and threw out the ones he did not think people would buy, he said.
People collect the cards to complete sets or buy packs in the hope of finding rare and valuable cards, which can sell for a high price.
The value of each card depends on its rarity, condition and demand.
Judge David Robinson continued an order suppressing the man’s name until his sentencing in September.
