Winona man accused of bulk trading card theft

(ABC 6 News) – A Winona man was arrested for allegedly stealing boxes of collectible cards from a Rochester store.

Joshua Allan Mueller, 44, faces one charge of felony theft.

According to court documents, at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, Rochester police responded to a SE retail store.

A staff member allegedly told police Mueller had been impersonating a vendor, coming into the store with his own boxes, cutting open the bottom of the store’s trading card boxes, and filling his own boxes with the cards.

He would then walk out the front door with the cards, according to court documents.

Police allegedly viewed security footage from Dec. 3 of Mueller entering the back room of the store, putting together his own boxes, and pushing a shopping cart with a different store-branded cardboard box in it toward the exit.

According to court documents, store employees intercepted the cart, opened the box, and found unopened sports trading/collectible cards.

The value of the cards was around $3,400, according to court documents.

Mueller is scheduled to appear in Olmsted County Court again Dec. 31.