
San Bernardino County’s novelty gaming company owner is speaking out after three robberies, the most recent of which had a thief threatening his staff with a pistol. The store has only been operational for a little over a year.
A man wearing dark attire, including a hoodie and mask, was seen on video entering the business and walking immediately behind one of the display cases at Into the Retroverse, situated in the 800 block of West Valley Boulevard in Colton.
Thieves have targeted the gaming business before, including on April 12 at around 8 p.m. Last year, on both Thanksgiving Day and November 6th, Into the Retroverse was robbed.
According to footage of the incident, the thief got into a fight with two business workers, including the owner’s brother. After a fierce altercation that strewn the store’s inventory, the three guys collapsed to the floor.
The proprietor of the novelty business, Jovanne Bernal, said that the thief spent an estimated $3,000 to $5,000 on Pokémon cards before pointing his pistol at the staff and loading up his bag with stolen stuff.
Alexander Bernal, Bernal’s brother, described the brutality as terrifying and expressed fear that the robber might shoot him as he lay on the ground.
Just seven months have passed since Into the Retroverse—Jovanne’s lifelong ambition—opened to the public at Colton City Plaza, across from Colton High School.
The business owner reported the incident to the Colton Police Department, which has a detective looking into the establishment’s history of robberies. The owner is now demanding that the management of Colton City Plaza increase security measures to prevent future attacks or, even worse, the needless killing of innocent people.
Seeing the security tape and the aggressive confrontation has disturbed Jovanne.
The local television station, KTLA, contacted the Colton City Plaza management to learn more about their intentions to increase security for the businesses and workers who rent out space at the mall.