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PERRY, Iowa (KCCI) -- Police in Perry are searching for a suspect who broke into TCG Planet, a local trading card store, and stole an estimated $25,000 to $40,000 worth of Pokémon cards. The burglary occurred shortly after the store closed on Sunday evening, and the owners say the thief was caught on surveillance video.
Justin Estes, who opened TCG Planet in January, described how the burglar gained access to the store. "Like I said, there's the door here that he came through," Estes explained, pointing to the damaged entryway. The thief reportedly broke through two back doors to reach the store's valuable Pokémon card collection.
"Right now, our estimated value is between $25,000 and $40,000 worth of Pokémon cards," Estes said.
Security cameras inside the store captured the break-in until the thief ripped them from the walls. However, neighboring businesses' cameras recorded a clear image of the suspect's face, which Estes says looks familiar.
"We believe he was in the store multiple times throughout the week and two times the day that he was here when he broke in," he added.
The Pokémon card resale market has surged in recent months, making it difficult for retailers to keep inventory in stock. "It's impossible to find Pokémon. You can't go to Walmart, Target, you know, they're not there right now. The market for it is crazy," Estes explained.
This incident follows a similar, but unrelated, theft at Hi-5 Comics and Cards in Des Moines last December, where a thief stole several boxes of trading cards, including Pokémon cards. Estes noted that such crimes, while rare, are not unheard of in the collectibles industry.
"It's a weird feeling. Especially in small-town Perry, you don't expect anything like that," he said. "Even like last night, we made sure we walked out together, because it's scary, still in the back of our mind."
Estes has handed over the surveillance footage to Perry police and is urging anyone with information about the theft to reach out to investigators.
