You know how it goes: you’re hanging out with your co-workers on a break, and while playing a game on your phone to pass the time, you foil a burglar who was trying to rip off your employer. That’s what police say happened at an Illinois Walmart, where employees were playing Pokémon Go during a break, and caught a thief instead of a mini-monster.

Since the game requires walking around in search of critters that exist in our world but are invisible to non-players, the employees were walking around outside of the store. They were effectively performing unofficial security patrols while off the clock.

The man they spotted was allegedly slipping large items under the fence out of the store’s garden center. The merchandise wasn’t small or cheap, either: the items he shoved under the fence reportedly included weed trimmers and chainsaws, as well as other outdoor equipment.

The employees didn’t toss a Pokéball at the suspect, but instead called police, who encountered the suspect while looking for stolen merchandise.

Police believe that the suspect is the same person who stole more merchandise using the same method back in June, but there were no augmented-reality games encouraging people to walk around at random outside of the store then.

Even if it’s just a fleeting fad, a game that forces people outside to interact with the real world is having fun and not-so-fun unintended consequences.

Salem Walmart Employees Playing Pokemon on Break Find Burglar Instead [WJBD Radio]

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