Two Arrested in Alleged Pokemon Championship Threat

Two Iowa men are under arrest on weapons charges after Boston police were alerted to alleged threats of violence against participants at the Pokemon World Championship, police said today.

Security officers at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, where the Pokemon championship was to be held, alerted the Boston Police Department to the threats found on social media on Thursday, and the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) began investigating.

Police said two male suspects were stopped attempting to enter the event. BRIC and Boston PD detectives were called and were told that the two men had driven to the event from Iowa and had several firearms in their vehicle, police said.

When the the suspects could not produce a gun license, police seized the vehicle, but the suspects were released pending a search warrant, according to the Boston PD.

On Friday, detectives received and executed a search warrant for the suspect vehicle and found a 12-gauge Remington shotgun, a DPM5 Model AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and a hunting knife, police said. At that time, an arrest warrant was issued for the two men.

With the assistance of the Saugus Police Department, BPD detectives located and arrested the suspects at a Saugus hotel.

Kevin Norton, 18, and James Stumbo, 27, both of Iowa, were charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and other firearm related charges. They were expected to be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court.