Image of Pokémon cards. (Photo by Valentin Bianchi/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
PHOENIX - Surveillance video shows three suspects breaking into a Phoenix card shop and stealing more than $70,000 worth of Pokémon cards, according to the business owners, who are offering a $10,000 reward for the suspects’ arrest and conviction.
The backstory:
The break-in happened Oct. 12, just after 1 a.m., at Crown Cards and Collectibles near 107th Avenue and Indian School Road.
The suspects allegedly broke into a neighboring business before smashing through a drywall partition to enter the shop.
Michael Cardinale, the shop’s owner, said the business held a grand opening just six weeks earlier and was equipped with metal bars and security cameras.
"I was just in disbelief," Cardinale said.
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Dig deeper:
David Kim, a business partner, said the theft was a significant financial and personal blow.
"It was a big shock," Kim said. "It hurts because a lot of this is our life savings and things that we have put into to make it happen."
The stolen merchandise included rare Gold Star Pokémon cards that can be worth thousands of dollars each.
The owners said the loss also included cards with sentimental value, including collections belonging to their children.
"Even our kids have their own binders and things that got stolen from them that they’ve been collecting for a couple of years," Kim said.
Surveillance video shows the three suspects fleeing the store just a few minutes after entering, then climbing into a white truck driven by a fourth suspect.
Despite the break-in, the owners said they got the shop back up and running in just a few hours so they could hold a tournament scheduled for that night.
They also said members of the community reached out with food and offers of assistance.
What's next:
Cardinale said they are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspects’ arrest and conviction, saying he hopes the reward will help prevent other card shops from being targeted.
"I'm getting nothing out of offering this reward ... but I would feel better about it moving forward," Cardinale said. "I think all the other card shops would feel better about it moving forward. Whatever it takes to find these individuals and that justice be served."
Phoenix Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Map of where Crown Cards and Collectibles is
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Michael Cardinale, owner of Crown Cards and Collectibles; David Kim, business partner at Crown Cards and Collectibles; and the Phoenix Police Department.