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GRAHAM, WA - Surveillance cameras captured footage of two crooks making off with thousands of dollars’ worth of Pokémon cards after breaking into a small business in Pierce County.
What they're saying:
"They were pretty brazen. It wasn't even completely dark outside," said Andrew Engelbeck, owner of Next Level The Gamers Den.
The break-in happened Saturday morning around 7 a.m.
Engelbeck tells FOX 13 Seattle the crooks were in and out of his business in about two minutes.
He says, unfortunately, his business has been targeted several times before.
"The frustrating part is knowing that you yet again have to go through the process of figuring out what was taken," he said. "It can add up so quickly and insurance companies they're only going to cover so much, and in this case they're not going to cover anything at all because I'll be paying for it all out of pocket," Engelbeck added.
A crime trend impacting the region
Pierce County Sheriff's Officials tell FOX 13 Seattle they are seeing thieves targeting specialty shops like Engelbecks.
"Anybody that's been around Pokémon for the last 20 years, is a high-end hobby," said Deputy Carly Cappetto.
Local perspective:
It is a trend that extends outside of Pierce County. In the last few months, FOX 13 Seattle has covered multiple break-ins targeting trading card shops in Seattle and in Everett.
"With the comparison of Pokémon booster packs to stocks, ‘hey they're just as investable.’ It's brought a large amount of great customers but you're always going to have the people that ruin the party too," said Engelbeck. "And that's what we're seeing with a large amount of break-ins. They know that this product is hard to trace, and they know once they get it they're probably going to be able to sell it to somebody else."
The suspects are still on the loose. If you have any information, contact the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.
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