Pokémon released its Mega Evolution Delta Region cards this week and one man in Charleston, South Carolina wanted them so badly that he left his 6-year-old daughter in line at Target at 1 am with a pillow and a blanket.
According to the incident report obtained by 404 Media, the person next to the little girl in line heard the father ask if his daughter “had the gun” before he left her alone at Target for more than an hour. Later, the father told detectives he left his daughter behind so “he could maintain his place in line and avoid missing the opportunity to purchase the cards.”
Pokémon cards are big business and people will wait to go to wild lengths to secure them. Waiting in line outside of a store for days before a new release is routine. John-Michael Dooley was waiting in line outside of a Target in Charleston, South Carolina with his 6-year-old daughter on the morning of November 6 when he decided to run home. He didn’t want to lose his place in line so he left his daughter behind “sleeping on the concrete,” according to a record of 911 calls obtained by 404 Media.
Other people waiting for Pokémon cards watched Dooley drive away and called the cops when he didn’t return. One guy on the scene started a timer on his phone when Dooley left and called the cops once it hit 45 minutes. “[He] advised later that he continued the timer on his phone, and the point in which the father returned to target showed 1 hour and 6 minutes,” according to an incident report obtained by 404 Media.
The person in line next to the 6-year-old “recalled the father waking his daughter up before he left and advised her he was ‘taking the dogs home,’” the report said. “Following this, [he] recalled hearing the father ask the daughter if ‘she had the gun’ before leaving.’ All parties on scene advised that the offender did not ask anyone to care or look after his daughter, and all stated the offender simply left her there by herself.”
The cops woke the girl up and she told them “she was at Target in line to get Pokémon cards with her father when the store opened,” according to the incident report. The police didn’t find a gun. “The only items the juvenile had in her possession when she was located was a pillow and a green blanket.”
Dooley returned to the line to find police talking to his daughter. “The juvenile still was unsure to the whereabouts of her father at this time,” the report said. “Several minutes after this, I could hear and see a dark colored SUV driving in the parking lot of Target in our direction. As the vehicle got closer, the [person who called 911] yelled out ‘That`s him.’”
Dooley got out of his car and police arrested him. “The offender was brought back to my patrol vehicle at which point he continued to say that he had only left to bring his dogs home,” the report said. “The offender reiterated this several times while also confirming that he left his 6-year-old daughter unattended for a period of time.” Dooley has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
Pokémon card collecting has been at the center of a few strange crimes over the past few years. Fights broke out in multiple Target parking lots earlier this year when a 30th anniversary set dropped.
