Surveillance video shows burglars ramming the doors of Northwest Sportscards in a theft that netted around $50,000 in collectible cards. (KOMO)
TACOMA, Wash. —A crew of masked burglars used a pickup truck as a battering ram and then hauled away containers of Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards, leaving a family-owned Tacoma <a href="https://comicvibe.com/explore-records-and-collectibles-at-upcoming-mi-rural-record-shows/” title=”Explore records and collectibles at upcoming MI Rural Record shows”>collectibles shop facing roughly $50,000 in losses.
“It’s scary. They came in with a lot of force, in and out in just a couple of minutes,” said Don Knutsen, owner of Northwest Sportscards. “I think it was well-rehearsed.”
The burglary happened shortly after 5 a.m. on Monday Store surveillance video shows a black Dodge pickup banging open a rear entrance to the building so two thieves could run in with totes and grab merchandise from the shelves and storeroom
“They got a large quantity of product. They filled up the whole bed of their truck,” Knutsen said. “They came in looking for Pokémon. They ended up getting a lot of Magic as well.”
The shop is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Police and Knutsen believe Monday’s burglary is connected to an attempted break-in at the store in July, but burglars also bashed their way inside in August and stole thousands of dollars in sports cards.
For Knutsen, who has run the shop for nearly 40 years, the damage reaches beyond the stolen inventory.
“Every time something is stolen, we need to sell 10 times as much product just to break even to make up for the items that were stolen, and that’s hard to do,” Knutsen said. “These break-ins have really been a challenge. They are setting us back.”
Trading cards have drawn more attention from thieves as their values have climbed.
Knutsen said rising prices have brought more demand and more incentive for some people to steal the collectibles. As a deterrent, many sports cards are graded and certified. They also come with serial numbers so they can be traced back to certain stores.
However, many of the Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards stolen Monday were in sealed boxes and lacked serial numbers or any identifying marks. Now, Knutsen is keeping a close watch on the various markets where stolen cards might be resold.
He is also beefing up his security system, with overnight guards seven days a week and bollards installed around the perimeter of the building to prevent vehicles from ramming through.
“We already have a fantastic security system, great cameras, high-definition everything, but we need to make it tougher,” he said.
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