SAN ANTONIO – A trading card store suffered a significant setback over the weekend after it was robbed of merchandise worth thousands of dollars, the store’s owner says.
Joe Adam, the owner of TCG Exchange at BesTea Café on the Northwest Side of San Antonio, stated that his store was robbed around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Two people are accused of breaking into the store through one of its side windows. Once they made entry, Adam said they stole around $15,000 in merchandise within eight minutes.
Surveillance footage inside the store captured the robbery. In the footage, the two people are seen stuffing items in black trash bags before police arrive.
“When I saw the motion on my phone, I immediately called 911 and let them know, ‘Hey, we have two guys inside the shop taking stuff,” said Adam.
Once police arrived on the scene, Adam said one person took off on foot, and the other person fled in a vehicle.
Adam does not believe police chased after either person following the robbery.
“It seemed like they knew what they were going for in a way. So, most likely, they’ve done their homework. They’ve been here before and I’m sure they are probably the ones that done it with other stores as well,” said Adam.
Adam said the pair knew what to steal inside his trading card store. They apparently avoided less expensive items and took items worth more money.
“They did take a lot of singles, as you can tell. Like all of this case. They just came here and just packed everything that was up in here. They took our binders full of cards,” said Adam.
During a Sunday interview, Adam said he started TCG Exchange within the past year. So, he’s still in the process of contacting his insurance company to potentially receive compensation for what was stolen.
Although Adams’ business has taken a devastating blow, he said he’s grateful for the customers who came into the store after the robbery to donate items that could be sold to recoup.
“The Pokémon community is actually helping me be stronger,” said Adam. “That’s actually what has kept me going.”