Crime
Father Accused of Leaving Sleeping Daughter, 6, Outside Target Alone to Snag Rare Pokemon Cards
A South Carolina father’s attempt to get his hands on a new set of Pokémon cards ended with him in police custody.
According to a Charleston Police Department news release issued Friday, November 6, officers arrested John-Michael Dooley after customers reported that a 6-year-old girl had been left unattended in a line of shoppers waiting for the store to open.
Dooley, 35, of Johns Island, had brought his daughter to the closed Target in Charleston’s West Ashley neighborhood, where customers gathered overnight ahead of the release of a new Pokémon trading card set.
Witnesses told police that sometime after 1 a.m., the father gave the girl a pillow and blanket before leaving her sleeping outside the store, according to the police report.
When Dooley failed to return for approximately an hour, other customers became concerned and contacted authorities.
Officers arrived around 2:30 a.m. and began investigating the situation.
Police said Dooley eventually returned to the store, where witnesses pointed him out to officers. He was then taken into custody.
The girl was unharmed and placed in emergency protective custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, police confirmed. Authorities did not disclose whether she was later reunited with family members.
During questioning, Dooley admitted to detectives that he had gone home while leaving his daughter behind, the police department said in its release.
According to investigators, he wanted to keep his spot in line so he wouldn’t miss his chance to purchase the Pokémon cards when they became available.
Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child and initially taken to the Al Cannon Detention Center. His bond was set at $40,000, according to ABC News, and he has since been released from custody, a Charleston Police Department spokesperson confirmed, per the report.
It was not immediately clear whether Dooley had entered a plea to the charge.
