Back in October 2023, store owner Jarek Smith began to notice that multiple UPS packages that contained store inventory were marked as damaged and not delivered. Smith also noted that the damage claims were odd because they involved liquid spills or leaking packages (liquid contents are quite obviously a rarity for game products). In February 2024, after another package went missing, Smith mentioned its disappearance to a UPS worker, who was also a regular customer. That customer decided to initiate an investigation of the missing packages at the Sugar City UPS facility, which led to one of the suspects involved being caught.
In conjunction with the Madison County Sheriff's Office, UPS began an internal investigation. They later identified three employees suspected of stealing packages from the facility: Jerry Hodges, John Forsyth, and Mitchell Wilwand. Hodges, according to court documents, admitted to stealing multiple PS5 games, Magic: The Gathering cards, a Pixel Google phone, and more in July 2024. Forsyth also admitted to stealing boxes, and returned seven boxes of items worth at least $4,798.30, and Wilwand confessed to stealing random items (cases of red bull, dryer sheets, hand soap, etc) and resigned from UPS.
The game store was specifically targeted because of the suspects' affinity for gaming. In one incident, Hodges actually took a package that was addressed to his relative and re-packaged it with an item in a larger box with stolen inventory from Smith's game store! Smith tried to file a theft claim on the store's missing inventory, multiple times. However, since UPS also filed a theft claim, Smith's claims have been more or less pigeon-holed for the time being. UPS is also keeping the stolen items as evidence, so Smith hasn't gotten any of his paid-for inventory back.
Another games retailer recently helped police recover stolen cards from another shop (see "Retailer Helps Recover Stolen Cards").
