A trading card vendor's sharp memory led to a dramatic arrest at the San Mateo Event Center on Sunday, after he recognized a stolen anime card worth a reported $30,000 from a warning post circulating in a Facebook group. Event center security detained the man on the spot, and San Mateo police arrived to find he was carrying three active arrest warrants and had allegedly given them a fake name.
Vendor Recognized Card From Online Warning
According to Patch, San Mateo police responded to the event center at 10:56 a.m. Sunday after dispatch received a report of a stolen trading card. A vendor told officers that a man had approached him trying to sell the card, which he immediately recognized from a Facebook group post that had identified it as stolen. The vendor held onto the card while security detained the suspect, who police later identified as 44-year-old Constantin Nitescu of Washington state.
Per the same account, Nitescu initially gave officers a false identity before his real name surfaced, revealing three outstanding arrest warrants. He was transported and booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of grand theft, possession of stolen property, theft by false pretenses, and providing false identification to law enforcement.
A Garden Grove Deal Gone Wrong
The case traces back to July, when the victim said he attempted to sell the high-value card to Nitescu in Garden Grove, California, for what he believed was $30,000 in cash. The station's report notes that after the victim thought he had received full payment, the buyer fled with the card, having actually handed over only a few hundred dollars. Garden Grove police received a report on the incident, and the victim turned to Facebook groups to warn other collectors and vendors that the card was stolen.
That warning appears to have paid off months later in San Mateo, where the event center at 200 Franklin Parkway was hosting a large trading card convention featuring sports cards, Pokémon, trading card games and other collectibles, according to the San Mateo County Event Center's own event listing for the show.
Pattern of Failed Sales Across California and Nevada
Investigators said the San Mateo arrest wasn't Nitescu's first attempt to unload the card. The report notes he had tried at least twice before to sell it, once in Las Vegas and once at a card show in Santa Clara County, fleeing on both occasions before law enforcement could arrive after those earlier, unsuccessful sale attempts. Police also said Nitescu is under investigation in a similar case in Marina, California, suggesting the Garden Grove incident may not have been isolated.
The recovered card was returned from the suspect, closing out at least this chapter of a saga that spanned several counties and months. Nitescu now faces charges including 487(a) PC grand theft, 496(a) PC possession of stolen property, 532(a) PC theft under false pretenses, and 148.9 PC providing false identification to law enforcement, in addition to the three outstanding warrants. California law defines grand theft broadly, with California Legislative Information stating that grand theft is theft committed in any of several specified circumstances under Penal Code Section 487.
