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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO (KMOV) — A suspected thief is behind bars after at least $100,000 worth of items were stolen from a South County video game store in August.
Jason Brassard, the owner of Trade-N-Games on Gravois Road in Fenton, told News 4 someone broke through the window of this store around 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 16. He received an alert from his security company about the break-in and rushed to the store, he says. Brassard told News 4 at the time of the theft he estimated to have been out at least $100,000 as a result of the crime.
“They came and got the best stuff in one swoop,” said Brassard. “This may be the first of its kind – an actual video game heist.”
Brassard said the burglars took the safe from the back room where he has his office. Brassard believes the thieves tried breaking into the safe, and when they couldn’t, they took the whole thing.
“In the safe was about 150 video games, all original in-their-boxes video games,” said Brassard. “First edition Atari games, first edition Nintendo games, Super Nintendo games.”
Brassard told News 4 just one of those games was worth $20,000. He planned to sell the rare games soon and use the money to buy a house.
The burglary came a few months after Brassard posted a video on YouTube showing him unboxing the rare video games that were stored in the safe.
“I think someone probably saw that video, yes… I don’t show the safe, but it’s behind me and it’s there and they know I’m excited and we always talk about how much things are worth,” said Brassard.
At the time of the theft, Brassard said he was second-guessing what he posts online.
“A lot of people won’t share what they have, and I understand a little more clearly why, but sharing has always been what I’ve done with everything,” said Brassard.
In February 2020, police announced that Damon Wayne Jackson had been arrested in connection with the crime. According to officials, Jackson and an unnamed woman attempted to sell six of the stolen games to Grumpy Bob’s Emporium in Maryville on Nov. 6, 2019. The employee at the Maryville store then contacted Trade-N-Games.
The woman allegedly showed her ID during the attempted transaction and later went on to sell more of the games. She was later spotted in surveillance video and identified in a photo lineup.
Jackson was also later identified in a photo lineup after trying to sell some more of the stolen games, authorities said.
The owner of Trade-N-Games was able to recover some of the stolen games due to identifying them through signs of ware.
Jackson has been charged with second-degree burglary for his alleged role in the crime.
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