Man robbing iconic game store at gunpoint tells employee he has a reason for alleged crime

The Chinatown-International District is home to the oldest retro video game store in the Pacific Northwest, Pink Gorilla Games. 

The store has been at corner of South King Street and 6th for 17 years and have no desire to relocate according to the owner Cody. 

Like many local businesses it’s been plagued with crime from break-ins to the latest, an armed robbery

The crime was caught on camera shortly after 5 p.m. Monday when a man dressed in dark clothes from head to toe, carrying a backpack and is wearing a mask walk into the store. 

Jordan Carson, 33, was behind the register when the man asked for a PS3 from their display case. 

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Pink Gorilla Games offers $10,000 reward to catch burglar caught on camera

After nearly two decades without an incident, a local game shop has been broken into two times in just the past two weeks.  The owner of Pink Gorilla Games believes the same thief may have struck twice and is now offering a $10,000 reward to anyone that can help catch him.  

Surveillance footage shows the man walking around the store before bringing everything up to the counter where Carson gives him his total multiple times instead of paying he says the man asked for a bag. 

The employee said he had a hunch something was off, he was right. 

"It was very casual, he had his hands in his pocket the whole time, it was a subtle motion, but it got the job done. I knew he had a gun," Carson said. 

The alleged thief making off the console, Pokémon and Yugioh cards he made employees empty from a display case and all their cash. 

"It pisses me off to get taken advantage of," Carson said. "It's the cost of having something people want and having a good price,  sadly it opens you up to thieves and people who would take advantage." 

The man told Carson he had a reason for actions. 

"He specifically mentioned that his brother or someone was in the hospital," Carson said. 

He says in that moment he was concerned for the safety of his coworker, Ash and himself. 

"It was an easy choice to give him what he wanted," Carson said. 

This isn’t a first for the store, last July they were broken into, twice, totaling about $14,000 in theft and damages. 

They’ve since added cameras and the building has also reinforced their entry. 

While they felt their last attack was targeted, the store owner, Cody says he’s seen this man before. 

He says the same man showed up after hours knocking on the door while he was live streaming. 

"I'm sorry, you have to go through this man that's really tough that you feel the need to do it," Carson said. 

While the store, owner and building management have taken steps to prevent these types of incidents, Carson is afraid of the man returning for more. 

Police are still actively searching for the alleged thief.