Ohio man who tracked a Pokémon card van gets probation and electronic monitoring

A 72-year-old Ohio man who planted a GPS tracker on a Pokémon card delivery van has been sentenced to 12 months of probation, including 90 days of electronic monitoring of his own movements. Kent Kubasta, of Medina, Ohio, attached a Spytec device to the woman's van, according to court documents reported by The Register on September 25.

The driver discovered the tracker on June 18 while making a delivery to Walmart; court documents describe her as "a carrier/vendor of Pokémon cards." Records state that Kubasta placed the device on the van to follow local card deliveries.

How the case unfolded

Kubasta initially pleaded not guilty to illegal use of a tracking device. He later waived his right to trial and pleaded no contest, which neither admits nor denies guilt. The court documents do not explain what he intended to do with the delivery information he gathered.

The sentence

Kubasta received 12 months of "community control," Ohio's term for probation, under basic supervision. He will be electronically monitored by GPS for the first 90 days.

He was also ordered to have no contact with the woman, and to pay a $25 monthly supervision fee, a $500 fine and court costs, bringing the total bill to $905.50. Violating the terms could land him in jail for six months.

Why Pokémon cards

The case comes amid intense demand for Pokémon cards; collectors regularly queue outside shops when new stock arrives. The franchise began in 1996 with a pair of Nintendo Game Boy games about catching and battling monsters, and has grown into a multibillion-dollar media empire spanning video games, trading cards, television, films, mobile apps and toys.

The latest Trading Card Game expansion, released on September 16, contains more than 150 cards, including 30 rare Pikachu variants, one of which appears in every booster pack. Some especially rare examples sell for six or seven-figure sums.

Randy Kendall, manager of Operation Fandom in Wooster, where the complaint was filed, told Fox 8 that Pokémon "is absolutely the hottest thing going" and that the trading cards are among the store's best-selling products. Most collectors, the report notes, manage to pursue rare cards without putting the delivery driver under surveillance.