Fairfax County police have arrested a man accused of a burglary and theft of Pokémon cards that authorities connected to a robbery elsewhere in the area.
A masked suspect approached a woman in a Tysons Corner parking garage on Thursday morning armed with a rifle, grabbed her and took her phone, the Fairfax County Police Department said. The woman escaped and the suspect fled before officers arrived.
The victim’s boyfriend also came to the scene soon after, and while attending to his girlfriend got an alert from a security system that someone broke into his home. Officers went to his home and confirmed that high-value Pokémon trading cards were taken.
Police did not specify the total value of the cards taken from the male victim’s home.
The police said that Mohammad Asif, 36, of California, burglarized the male victim’s home in Fair Oaks, Virginia. Detectives identified Mr. Asif and arrested him at a residence near the scene of the second alleged crime.
“Detectives believe the two incidents are related and continue to investigate the identity of the robbery suspect. This incident does not appear to be a random act,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in their release.
Mr. Asif is charged with burglary, two counts of grand larceny, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held without bond.
