MASHPEE, Mass. — A masked thief stole $40,000 worth of Pokémon cards and other collectible cards from a Mashpee game store hours before opening for its Black Friday sale, owner Robert Drexler said.
The burglar apparently shot his way into Dark Water Games around midnight with what Drexler believes was a BB or pellet gun, leaving marks in the walls and shattered glass on the ground.
Surveillance video shows the criminal emptying cases of Magic: The Gathering product and filling a bag, along with Pokémon, Lorcana, and Yu-Gi-Oh! graded cards.
“It definitely looks like they came in and wanted to take a very particular thing,” Drexler said. “They knew exactly where to walk, exactly what stuff they took.”
The valuable cards have unique serial numbers, so they can be flagged online as stolen, making it difficult for a thief to resell them.
“You hear about it everywhere else,” customer and friend Thatcher Sims said of the burglary. “But then, when you walk in, and you see a hole in the wall, you’re like, ‘Oh, my goodness. That happened somewhere I go? That’s crazy.’”
The ordeal is emotional for Drexler. The shop is like a second home, where his customers have become friends. Playing card games has shaped his life and formed his community.
“[When] I was a kid growing up, it kept me out of drugs, it kept me out of gangs,” Drexler said. “So, that’s a big deal for me. It’s a big community thing.”
But it’s what happened as police began investigating that has cheered up Drexler. Arriving shoppers offered to clean up the mess, brought coffee and contributed to some of the biggest Black Friday sales the store has ever had.
“At first, we were very worried about how much they took, were we going to be able to sell and stuff,” Drexler said. “But all our customers were awesome. They came in; we were able to help them all out. They shared stories, made us laugh, helped us through the day.”
Drexler will be working with his insurance company in the coming days, as he says police plan to collect surveillance video from neighboring businesses.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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