Game thieves caught after reselling games next door

We have a special place in our heart for stupid gadget criminals over here at Engadget, not so much because we pity their lack of intelligence, but due to the consistent comic relief they tend to provide us and our audience; regular readers of this site will probably remember such dim-witted individuals as the laptop thief who got busted for contacting customer support, the gentleman who snatched a handset from a gathering of cellphone experts, and of course, the clueless teenagers who were caught trying to extort a ransom for the iPod they had just stolen. Well the latest in this series of tragi-comic tales comes to us from Berryville, Arkansas, where two young men had made a habit of stealing videogames from the local Wal-mart by stuffing them down their pants. They probably thought that they were pretty clever by removing the games from their cases so as to discard the ever-present security tags, but what turned out to be their downfall was the fact that they would immediately sell the stolen discs to a GameStop location -- one that was located right next door to the Wal-mart! It didn't take long for the ace sleuths in the 'mart's loss prevention department to make the GameStop connection, after which the two braniacs were quickly identified by police detectives perusing the stores' security footage. Oh, how we love stupid criminals: we keep getting older and (arguably) wiser, but they stay just as stupid.

[Via Joystiq]

[mike p @ Aug 25th 2006 6:36PM]

owned!!!!

[Neo Senku @ Aug 25th 2006 6:54PM]

dumbasses if they wernt so greedy and waited a little or maybe went to a diffrent gamestop they might have got away with it. just goes to show that too much greed can ruin ya

[Shadyman @ Aug 25th 2006 6:56PM]

No, no.. Pwnt.

[david b @ Aug 25th 2006 7:00PM]

i agree with Neo Senku they could have got away and i wonder if i ever bought a stolen game from them who knows how could they not get caught at walmart they have cameras didnt someone notice them

[Shawn Clark @ Aug 25th 2006 7:12PM]

Ah yes..and now, here's a song from one of my distant relatives, Fred High, brother to my great-grandfather.

The Boy That Burned in the Berryville Jail:

http://www.lyon.edu/wolfcollection/songs/highboy1245.html

[brandon_r87 @ Aug 25th 2006 8:03PM]

SO OLD!!! OMG, WTF?!??! IZ IT JUST ME OR IZ ENGADGET SLOWER AT DOING NEWZ THAN OTHER SITEZ?!??!!? 1?

Just kidding, but I did read this somewhere else (prison?) and at the same time found it necessary to make fun of the people who expect CNN-like news coverage of the gadget and gaming worlds. Seriously, someone is going to post it before everyone else does. They don't all simultaneously post stories at once.

What? Am I chewing myself out now?

[casey D @ Aug 25th 2006 9:06PM]

Dont forget the girls who put up the mario cubes that were thought to be bombs...

[Megaan007 @ Aug 25th 2006 9:33PM]

Heh, I live close to and know people in berryville. I wonder if it was anybody I know? And to david b: I've been in the berryville walmart. The security in that wal mart sucks so bad.

[A.J. @ Aug 25th 2006 11:14PM]

I used to work at a CompUSA in Central NJ...

This pack of 14 year old idiots would come in then SCATTER. Like roaches when you turn on a light... after they leave I notice that EVERY SINGLE MEMORY CARD for X-Box AND PS2 are gone... I see them walking down the shopping center to the GameStop. I call the store from the front desk and tell they guy what's up. Watching the cops take away 10 14 year olds in a van is priceless, I assure you.

[Armin @ Aug 26th 2006 8:42AM]

Imagine if they pulled it off?

[Galley @ Aug 26th 2006 10:03AM]

Why is GameStop even buying games without cases and instruction manuals? I don't care how cheap they may be, I'm not gonna buy crap like that.

[hydrogen_wv @ Aug 26th 2006 10:03PM]

Because some people don't care about manuals or cases. And, really, if you can buy the same game without a box and manual for $10 when you'd have to pay $25+ for one with the cse and manual... I'm broke most the time, so i'd consider it. Especially since I barely ever look at the manuals....

No offense, but you need to take into consideration that some people can't afford much. I bought my GC used, and I've bought all but 2 (of about 35) games Used. I'm in college, so books, food, rent, utilities, etc. have to come first.

Once you are 18, your parents don't buy your video games for you anymore.

[Mark Reid @ Aug 27th 2006 10:17AM]

Easter morning, some young punks swiped my iPod from my truck. I called the police and filed a report. I also told the employees at my mom and dad's pawn shop (1/2 block away) that it had been stolen. A couple of hours later, some kids brought in an iPod and tried to sell it. They said it was theirs, even though it had my name and my wedding pictures in it!

[yuppicide @ Aug 27th 2006 9:11PM]

Back in the day I worked for Radio Shack. This was at the time when VHS camcorders were still popular. The newer smaller camcorders were just coming out on the market.

We had gotten one in stock and went to put it on display. I didn't even get to put a security tie on it yet. I put it on the top shelf behind the counter.

Sometime later (not sure when) two Spanish/Mexican guys come in my store and need parts for a camcorder. They were "told by the other store you have them in stock". I said no, we have to special order them. It will take a week. They needed a battery, charger, and remote. Well, they said they'd go down to the other store closer to their house and order them.

Something clicked and I looked on our shelf and the new camcorder was gone! The two people just in my store had my camcorder!

I called the next closest store and said to be on the look out for them. They were in the store at that moment trying to order the parts. The guy asked what he should do. I said read me the serial #, because I had the box. They matched, he called cops, and they got arrested.

[erik @ Aug 28th 2006 9:29AM]

What's amazing is that they obviously did this more than once. Really, how stupid do you have to be?

[Robert Barbieri @ Sep 21st 2006 6:35AM]

Tech theives seem to be such idiots don't they...

[Danny Turner @ Oct 3rd 2006 12:25PM]

I live in berryville and know personally the employees at Game-Stop and have worked in the wal-mart electronics department. The only games they could have been stealing were best sellers that sell fro less than $20, what idiots. I know one of these guys and lets just say-He is not a Rocket Scientist.

[someguy @ Nov 12th 2006 5:10PM]

thats funny you talk about idiots stealing when you ripped of dozens of people online for magic cards and are most likely facing a federal sentence lol.