Volusia Corrections Lieutenant Charged In $850 Trading-Card Theft At GameStop
Investigators say Joseph Anthony Brown left with a collector’s box after presenting a canceled order. Brown told police he believed the purchase was valid and expected to be charged.
ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando police detective alleges that Joseph Anthony Brown, of Port Orange, took an approximately $850 box of Magic: The Gathering trading cards from a GameStop on September 2, 2026, after showing an employee a screenshot of an order that had been canceled, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant.
According to James Madison Audits Brown is believed to be a Corrections Lieutenant with the Volusia County Division of Corrections.
The affidavit, sworn September 17 by Detective K. Cintron, asserts probable cause for third-degree grand theft involving property valued at $750 or more but less than $5,000. The alleged incident occurred at the GameStop at 2430 S. Kirkman Road and was reported to police on September 4.
Dispute over an online order
According to statements summarized in the affidavit, a caller believed to be Brown contacted the store on August 30 and 31 about orders associated with his GameStop account. Assistant manager Pablo Gutierrez told investigators he repeatedly explained that the account showed an approximately $80 order, but no order for the $850 collector’s box.
Gutierrez said he told the caller the more expensive box was available to buy in the store. The affidavit also says the caller asked which employees would be working, information Gutierrez declined to provide.
On September 2, Brown asked an employee to retrieve the collector’s box from a locked display case so he could inspect it for blemishes, according to the employee’s account in the affidavit. Brown then displayed a screenshot of an $850 order and asked to cancel a separate $80 order.
The employee said he could locate and cancel the $80 order but could not find the order for the more expensive box. When a UPS delivery arrived, the employee turned his attention to the delivery. Police allege Brown then took the collector’s box from the counter and left.
Records and surveillance cited
Cintron wrote that store surveillance corroborated the employees’ accounts. The affidavit includes surveillance stills described as showing Brown entering the store, taking the cards from the counter and leaving. It also says the employee identified Brown in a six-photo lineup administered by another detective.
According to the affidavit, records showed no purchase at the Kirkman Road location under Brown’s account on the date of the alleged theft. They did show an in-person purchase of the same item at a Sanford GameStop that day.
Store manager Jonathan Fonseca told police he called Brown approximately 10 times in an effort to recover the cards, but Brown did not return the calls, the affidavit states.
Brown’s explanation to investigators
During a recorded telephone interview on September 16, Brown told Cintron that he had purchased the same type of box at GameStop locations in Millenia, Kirkman and Sanford. He said he paid in person at Millenia and Sanford and believed he had paid online for the Kirkman purchase, according to the affidavit.
Brown emailed the detective the order screenshot he said he had shown the store employee. While reviewing his bank account during the call, Brown said he could not find a charge for the Kirkman purchase, the detective wrote.
The affidavit says Brown then checked his GameStop account and reported that the order status was canceled. He acknowledged receiving an August 31 cancellation email and forwarded it to the detective.
Brown disputed the employees’ accounts, saying they had told him the screenshot was sufficient and that he was “good to go,” according to the affidavit. He said he believed he would be charged for the item afterward and maintained that he had done nothing wrong.
Detective obtained an arrest warrant
Cintron concluded that the witness statements, surveillance, purchase records and interview supported probable cause to believe Brown knowingly took the cards without payment and intended to deprive GameStop of the property. Based on the information contained in his affidavit, the detective was able to secure an arrest warrant. According to the available arrest report, Brown was arrested on September 21, 2026.