A 28-year-old California man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for armed robbery at GameStop stores in California, according to a press release today from the Office of the American Attorney.
Frederick Lopez Jr. has been charged with armed robbery at four separate GameStop stores in Los Angeles and Orange. Lopez used the gun to steal $ 132,300 in sales and cash from stores. He pleaded guilty in August 2019 before he was sentenced on January 27. The US Attorney's Office in California said Lopez had entered four shops at night – sometimes with another man – and threatened staff with a firearm before ordering them to "load slides and video games into shopping bags."
During a West Covina, California, robbery in October 2018, Lopez seized employees' cell phones and damaged the store's telephone. He also instructed an employee to help insert stolen goods into his backyard, according to the US Attorney's Office.
Lopez seized $ 131,000 of merchandise – consoles and games – and $ 1,300 in cash during four robberies. He has been ordered to pay this amount in a refund. The US Attorney's Office did not provide a list of stolen items. Given the high number of stolen goods, Lopez may have been robbed too much
Nintendo of America has provided police with a list of deductibles during a robbery. Police were able to identify one person who reportedly bought a concert in Lopez, according to a search warrant filed with a California court.
"The severity of Lopez's criminal actions cannot be overstated," the prosecutor said. "The robbery is armed like these, where guns are a victim, leaving a lot of pressure and pain that victims remember for years, some for the rest of their lives."
Times are tough at GameStop. The company closed about 200 stores in 2019, and posted unusual numbers during the holidays – sales dropped 25 percent. GameStop executives are working well on a new console season, with the release of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, to update the company's results by 2020.
