Owner of Wilmington video game store reacts following arrest of alleged robber
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A man accused of robbing a video game store last week made his first court appearance on Monday.
“I’m just super thankful for Hayden to get some justice back and you know, it’s super scary just, you know, he’s at work and just having a good day. So it’s just, I can’t imagine being in that situation and then not having any answers.”
That’s how Austin Parker, owner of Video Game Time, feels following the arrest of 36-year-old Joseph Trevor Wilson during a traffic stop on Sunday.
Parker said his employee, Hayden Guiles, was working in the middle of the day last Tuesday when he was the subject of an armed robbery, allegedly committed by Wilson.
“A gentleman came in with a briefcase and he set it down and he was asking about some of the cards and just talking like normal,” Parker said. “And then he came to the side, and pulled my employee over, asked to see a game. And then he pepper sprayed him, showed him that he had a gun, ziptied him, put him on the ground and then just kind of stole all of our high end value cards and everything like that.”
Wilson has been charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, second-degree kidnapping, and interfering with an emergency communication relating to the robbery.
Parker claims Wilson stole over 20,000 dollars worth of trading cards, including valuable sets of Pokémon cards.
Parker said he had started his business, located on Princess Street, a few years ago, due to his love of video games.
He soon noticed the potential in Pokémon cards after seeing their popularity increase during COVID.
“The hobby is just extremely massive right now, there’s a ton of money into it. Everyone is just super excited with the new releases and everything.”
But the value of those cards brought in an unsuspecting surprise when Wilson allegedly robbed the store.
“Essentially, that is like cash for people so to bring those specific cards into a shop is just very easy money for them. So that’s why I feel like we were targeted because it’s just an easy way to make money, it’s very, very popular right now.”
Parker said he has learned some valuable lessons from this incident and is ready to get back on track.
“Just being smarter with how we have our inventory, I know that in the future, like our big ticket items, we’re not going to even have at the shop anymore. We’re very excited, we’re excited to bounce back and the community has been insane with how many people have reached out to us and trying to help us out as much as they can. So we’re really thankful for everybody.”
Wilson faces other charges stemming from the traffic stop, including felony possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving with a revoked license.
