$100K of Pokémon cards gone in a minute, trading store says

Pokémon looting: A Carroll County trading card store says it lost $100,000 after a Christmas Eve break-in targeting its Pokémon collection.

Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers was in Carrollton, where she spoke with the store owner about what happened.

See this story on WSB tonight at 11 p.m.

The owner said the display case was filled with high-end cards, like this Chase Card, and the cheapest thing here was $600.

“He was here about 60, 63 seconds and took $100,000 worth of stuff,” said co-owner Tommy Brown.

Surveillance video from Tag Collects in Carrollton shows these brief moments.

“He ran with a hammer and went straight to where we call the high end corner. A few of the cards he got were the Pokémon. Collectors will know what I mean when I say Moon Brion. We got a few of those. They were $4-$5,000,” he said.

This was inventory purchased with personal money.

“It took about three years of collecting,” Brown said.

Carrollton police say it happened around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

“We wanted to be open on Christmas Eve, because at the last minute, my kid needs this. My kid wants that. You know, I couldn’t do it,” Brown said.

Instead of asking, “What are you trying to catch today?” Brown said he spent the day picking up that glass and trying to determine the extent of the damage.

“We cannot replace some of them because they are no longer available on the market,” he said.

Pokémon card thefts are becoming more and more common.

“They’re not serialized, so there’s no way to track them,” Brown said.

As for Brown and his other business owners, they say that won’t deter them and that they hope to reopen their doors next week.

“We’re going to be safer. We just want to be there for their community,” Brown said.

The police are still looking for the thief. The owners believe the person had already entered the store.

They also set up an online fundraiser.

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