Washington: Police Seek Man Suspected of Taking Over $15,000 in Gaming PCs From Costco Stores

Police in Bonney Lake, Washington, are asking the public to help identify a man suspected of walking out of Costco stores with high-end gaming PCs, The News Tribune reported on October 7, 2026.

The Bonney Lake Police Department put the total loss at more than $15,000 in a Facebook post, according to the newspaper.

Two visits to the same store

Several gaming PCs with glowing RGB fans displayed on a table
Gaming PCs on display in Las Vegas in 2020. Illustrative image; not the stolen computers. Photo: Notdjey / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Police said the man took gaming PCs from the Bonney Lake Costco on two separate days:

  • July 2: an iBuyPower gaming PC valued at $2,300
  • September 8: an MSI gaming PC valued at $3,200

He is also suspected of doing the same at “numerous” Costco stores in King County, the department said. The News Tribune’s report did not give the dates or locations of those incidents.

Gaming products have been a target in other places, too. GameEmpress previously reported on a PlayStation console theft at a Redlands GameStop in California, and on a sledgehammer burglary at a Houston trading card shop. There is no indication the cases are connected.

A black Jeep Wrangler

Police said the man drives a black, four-door Jeep Wrangler. The department shared photos of him and of the vehicle. The October 7 report did not name the man or mention an arrest or charges. His alleged involvement has not been established in court.

How to send a tip

Anyone who recognizes the man can call the department’s investigative tip line at 253-447-3231. The News Tribune’s report also lists the email address detective@bonneylake.gov.

The department’s website asks callers to leave a message with as many details as possible and says the line is checked periodically. Information sent in is subject to public disclosure under Washington law unless the tipster asks to remain anonymous, the site says.

Featured image: A Costco Wholesale store in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in May 2025. Illustrative image; not a store involved in the thefts. Photo: Aaron F. Stone / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Editor-in-Chief226 articles

Rahis Saifi is the Editor-in-Chief of Game Empress, where he has edited coverage since 2021. He oversees gaming news and the U.S. desk, which reports on gambling-related crime, court cases and regulation from court records, police releases and state filings. He has worked in digital news for a decade and has been a contributing author at The Huffington Post, Tech.Co, Business Zone and Social Nomics since 2016. He also runs Grand Theft Gamer on YouTube, playing games such as GTA Online, Resident Evil, WWE 2026 and Hogwarts Legacy.

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