Surveillance cameras captured footage of a man hiding inside a Pasadena Best Buy store hours before it opened. The incident happened on the same day that crowds of Pokémon fans were camped outside the store waiting for the latest trading card drop.
Pasadena police received a call around 1 a.m. Wednesday from Best Buy security staff who reported seeing a man wandering around inside the closed store, Lt. Tim Bundy said.
Police officers and managers arrived at the store, located inside a shopping center near East Foothill Boulevard.
The manager opened the doors and security gates, allowing officers inside. Bundy said officers quickly located Patrick Keyes, 45, a known man in the area, and arrested him without incident.
Initial investigation into the man’s whereabouts found no signs of forced entry. According to the police department, police believe Keyes walked into Best Buy during store hours and hid inside at closing time.
“He ate some snacks, drank some drinks and it’s unknown if he actually stole anything else,” Bundy said.
Bundy said a review of the footage showed Keys taking the AirPods out of their packaging, but it was unclear whether he was trying to steal them.
Keyes is arrested on suspicion of theft.
At the time of the arrest, a small crowd of Pokémon fans were standing outside Best Buy waiting to purchase the newest set of trading cards, the Scarlet and Violet 151 expansion.
Officials do not believe that Keyes was hiding in the store to be the first person to capture the set of Pokémon cards.
Bundy said, “As far as I can tell, it was a coincidence.”
