You get mad props for actually wanting to find a constructive solution to this issue and not jumping to any knee-jerk responses. I know I wouldn't have reacted as positively.

Like others have said, your options are basically:

A.) Confront the thieving bastard, aggressively or politely, but let him know that you can't be friends with someone you don't trust. Maybe he knows he has a problem and wants to change? (I doubt it, though)
2.) Ignore it and cut ties with him.
D.) Punch him in the dick.

I actually advocate all three options, although the order is up to you. What a shitty situation and it sucks to have to go through that. Again, I applaud your caring attitude and not jumping to any hasty decisions.

I would think that if he's burned you once, then he could easily burn you again. Is the friendship worth it? That's up to you, I suppose. I hope you bump this thread and let us know how it works out and you recover your stolen gear. Good luck!

You should steal anything he ever loved and destroy it in front of him. Stealing someone's amiibo is a sin

Make a new friend. At the very least, it has to change immediately. This doesn't get better if you wait.

So you had your toys stolen? Kids do that.

He did you a favor.

anybody can have any opinion they want about me. im not going to say im a good person, nor am i going to say that im a bad person. i dont want this to sound like some kind of defense of myself, but i know thats the nature of this discussion right here, but i believe there is a difference between what me and one of my friends do for entertainment purposes and how you deal with complex human emotions and addictions with people you are close to. again, im not trying to say that im a good person by any means, but i feel like if we want to be intellectually honest, we have to distinguish the two scenarios. you are entitled to disagree. 

i do want to let everyone know that i will update everyone on the situation and i can even do a before and after shot of my amiibo collection. the last time i took a picture was some time in late march and i am sure that he actually took them this last weekend.

where we are at right now is that chav has not said anything to me or my wife. there is also kind of a third person involved. this third person was the friend of the group of friends chav stole from before. the three of us have a group text that we talk about baseball and video games in, and chav has not participated in that group conversation since the text was sent last night. (this third person plays the "marty schwartz" character in our Hot Pop videos)

so pretty much, he is doing what he always does. avoids until everyone forgets about it, and then tries to weasel his way back into hanging out and having fun. so im afraid there wont be any real meaningful updates for as long as another week or two even. i will definitely let you guys know.

A 26 year old stealing toys lol reminds me of the problems i faced as a 7 year old when my goku toy went missing

This is exactly like saying 'once a drunk, always a drunk.' I'm a recovering alcoholic and you never 'conquer' alcholism. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about having just one drink... Addiction isn't as black and white as people like to think it is. Its something that completely overtakes everything you do, long after you've quit. Moving forward with an addiction requires you to give up almost everything and everybody that has ment anything to you. That isn't an easy thing to do, its also wicked easy to fall right back into old paterns without even realizing it. There are so many little things that can lead to a relapse it isn't even funny.

See the thing is, I see stealing as an addiction too. Once you start, its wicked hard to stop and sometimes that itch creeps right back in. Could be as simple as you happen to be broke and want something, you see your buddy has it and the next thing you know its in your pocket and you're making an excuse about having to leave. Your buddy might not steal any more, but I promise you he's thought about it. I'm not saying hes going to start stealing again, theres always an exception to the rule, but 99.99% of the time, its a rule for a reason.

I hope your buddy never steals another thing in his life, I really really do. I also hope that the OP's buddy gets help, maybe he can even be the person to help him along that path, but quite frankly it isn't his responsibility. I don't think he should call the cops or make a big deal about it, the text his wife sent was an excellent way of handling things. Hopefully the guy will get some help if he has a problem(besides the stealing). Hopefully that text message was enough and his friend is taking a good, hard look at himself and his life and will evalute how to move forward.

I personally would have said something in person, you can't avoid someone or run away without looking pretty guilty. I'm sure he would have had some sort of response and if this guy is as good a buddy as the OP says, he would have been able to see through any bullshit. He's done what he has needed to do, but I stand by everything I've said. Once a thief, always a thief. Ditch that clown and find a friend who isn't a thief. It might be cold and hard, but you have to look out for yourself and your wife. Not someone who stole from you and people you know. 

Well he did say he is the only friend that comes over. so it's the friend or the wife.