John-Michael Dooley
Charged; presumption of innocence. Dooley, a 35-year-old Johns Island father, is charged with unlawful conduct toward a child after police said he left his sleeping 6-year-old daughter alone in line outside a Charleston Target overnight so he could hold his spot for a new Pokémon card release; he is being held on $40,000 bond and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Introduction
John-Michael Dooley is a 35-year-old father from Johns Island, South Carolina, who was arrested outside a West Ashley Target in Charleston in the early hours of Friday, November 6, 2026, after witnesses told police he left his sleeping 6-year-old daughter alone in a line of customers waiting for a new Pokémon trading card release — and went home. He admitted to detectives that he left the girl unattended so he could keep his place in line, police said, and he was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child and booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center. His daughter, who was unharmed, was placed into emergency protective custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services .
Background Information
The overnight line formed for the Friday-morning release of new Pokémon Trading Card Game expansions — the “Mega Evolution – Delta Reign” and “30th Celebration” collections — which drew dedicated fans to stores across the country, with packs starting at around $5 . The Target where Dooley had been waiting sits in the 2000 block of Sam Rittenberg Boulevard in Charleston’s West Ashley neighborhood . Numerous customers had gathered outside the store overnight in anticipation of the release, according to the Charleston Police Department .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
According to the police account, Dooley waited in line with his daughter outside the Target, and sometime after 1 a.m. on November 6 he gave the sleeping 6-year-old a pillow and blanket before leaving her in the line and departing the area . After roughly an hour had passed without his return, concerned customers in the line contacted police around 2:30 a.m. to report an unattended child . Officers who responded learned that the girl had been waiting in line with her father and that he was no longer in the area; police described the call as a report of an “unattached child” — a child with no adult supervision in a public space .
When Dooley returned to the store sometime later, witnesses in the line identified him to officers and he was arrested . During an interview with detectives, he admitted that he had gone home and left his daughter unattended “so he could maintain his place in line and avoid missing the opportunity to purchase the cards,” according to the department . The girl was unharmed and was placed into emergency protective custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services . Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child and booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The story drew national attention for the collision it described between collectible-culture dedication and basic child supervision, with the police department itself framing the arrest under the headline “Pokémon Cards Over Parenting” . NBC News reported that Dooley declined to discuss the allegations in detail, citing advice from his attorney, but said media coverage of the case has been inaccurate without specifying what was wrong; the network noted the police release does not say whether the cards were intended for himself or his daughter . The most concrete consequence landed on the child, whom the department said was taken into emergency protective custody while her father was processed at the county detention center .
Current Status
As of the fetched reporting, Dooley remains charged with one count of unlawful conduct toward a child and is being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center; a judge set his bond at $40,000 at a hearing on Friday afternoon, November 6 . Online court records show an initial court appearance scheduled for December 18, 2026, and a second appearance on April 16, 2027 — the New York Post, also citing online court records, reported a December 12 return date . The charge has not been tested in court, and no plea had been reported as of the fetched reporting.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The case has become a shorthand for misplaced priorities in collectible fandom — a father, in the police department’s telling, treating his daughter’s supervision as a placeholder task while the prize was a stack of roughly $5 trading-card packs. For Dooley personally, the arrest has produced a formal child-endangerment charge, a jail stay, a $40,000 bond and a court calendar running into 2027, while his daughter remains in the custody of the state’s social-services agency rather than at home . His reported dispute with the media coverage signals the case will be contested in public as well as in court .
Sources
- City of Charleston Police Department, “Pokémon Cards Over Parenting: Father Arrested After Leaving Young Daughter Alone,” November 6, 2026 — source
- New York Post, “SC dad left sleeping daughter, 6, outside Target at 1 a.m. to save his spot in line for Pokémon cards: cops,” November 7, 2026 — source
- Law&Crime, “Dad left child outside Target in Pokemon cards line: Cops,” November 7, 2026 — source
- NBC News, “South Carolina man arrested after leaving sleeping 6-year-old daughter in line for Pokémon card release, police say,” November 7, 2026 — source
- WCIV ABC News 4, “Johns Island man charged after leaving daughter in line at Target for Pokémon cards,” November 7, 2026 — source