Pokemon Go: Wanted criminal arrested after visiting 'gym' at police station

Police recognised the man, who had a warrant out for his arrest

Remko De Waal/Getty

While playing Pokémon Go, one Michigan criminal found the last thing he was looking for: the police.

William Wilcox found himself at the Milford police station while playing the augmented reality game. The station had been listed as a “gym”, where gamers can claim and catch other Pokémon.

Mr Wilcox had a warrant for his arrest, however, and police nabbed him on the spot.

Police told NBC affiliate KCBD that the game simply made the job easier.

“Fortunately, sometimes they make our job easy for us,” said police chief Tom Lindberg.

“The original charge he had was for breaking and entering, but the warrant was for failure to appear for sentencing. He either forgot he had a warrant out for his arrest or was just ignoring it thinking nothing will happen.”

Given the fact that Milford – a town 30 miles north of Ann Arbor – has a population under 6,500, police recognised Mr Wilcox when he arrived at the station.

Mr Wilcox was arraigned and released, apparently unphased by the time in police custody.

“I think he was more upset that he had to stop playing the game,” said Mr Lindberg, adding that this could have been avoided if Mr Wilcox were more mindful of his surroundings.

“Don’t just walk into the police building and start playing the game,” he said. “Most of those characters will appear outside the building."