Late last night, Panda X Gaming’s Jonathan Oudthone was alerted to something alarming: his car had been broken into and much of his broadcasting equipment was stolen. Having just wrapped up his work providing a live show for folks unable to attend Texas Showdown, there’s no doubt the juxtaposition was jarring.
“[I] loaded up after the event and went out for dinner with a few players. Jan called me saying he saw someone digging through my car and my window was busted,” Oudthone described to Shoryuken through email. “Rushed down and most of my equipment was stolen, [including my] personal laptop with photos and videos of my kids growing up.”
When all was said and done, multiple cameras, capture cards, headsets, splitters, an audio mixer, and a variety of other necessary broadcasting materials were taken. Shortly afterwards, Oudthone filed a police report, which he says was augmented by Jan’s clear description of the suspect, and they are hoping the venue’s surveillance leads to more details.
This is the second such event to occur in as many months. Mad Catz community manager Mark Julio saw much of his personal equipment and even a key to the Tekken 7 board granted to him by Bandai Namco stolen during his trip to Washington for Northwest Majors, though little evidence pointed towards it being connected to our scene. This time around, however, the theft hits a little closer to home. “I suspect this guy was scoping me out at the event because he went straight to my car and knew what he was going for,” Oudthone speculates. “My windows are tinted so he couldn’t have seen anything just walking by.”
At this point in time, there’s very little evidence as to how connected the suspect is to the fighting game scene and not much else to do but wait. Oudthone is currently on his way back to his home in Arkansas, where he will have access to pertinent information like serial numbers.
A prominent community member, Oudthone is frequently called upon to stream tournaments of all levels and also organizes his own online competitions. With work at Midwest Championships rapidly approaching, there’s definitely an added sense of urgency with regards to the return of his belongings, but there’s also a sentimental edge to this unfortunate affair with the loss of family recordings and photos.
It goes without saying, but this is an incredibly shitty turn of events, and we hope everything can be corrected in the near future. If you have any information on this crime, be sure to contact Oudthone through Twitter as soon as possible.
