{"id":146228,"date":"2026-01-23T12:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/146228\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:12:10","slug":"pokemon-card-thefts-are-hitting-collectors-across-southern-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/146228\/","title":{"rendered":"Pokemon card thefts are hitting collectors across Southern California"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thieves have tried to break into Taylor Minatogawa\u2019s business five times in the last two months, distressing him so much he\u2019s spent at least a dozen nights inside his shop keeping guard. <\/p>\n

A hooded suspect with a baseball bat surprised one of his employees at the door of the Gardena shop during one unsuccessful attempt. In another, thieves cut their way in through the roof, making off with thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of loot. <\/p>\n

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Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n

For all that effort, one might think the store deals in diamonds, designer brands or expensive tech. But Minatogawa doesn\u2019t work with any of those \u2014 he deals in Pikachus, Charizards and Jigglypuffs, to name a few.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A Van Gogh Pikachu Pokemon card sells for $2,000 at RWT Collective in the Sawtelle neighborhood of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Over the last six months, trading card shop owners and serious Pokemon card collectors across Southern California have been targeted in brazen, sophisticated and sometimes violent thefts, with losses reaching into the six figures in a single heist. <\/p>\n

Police in several cities are investigating. Some are asking neighboring departments if they\u2019ve run into similar cases. For their part, the victims aren\u2019t sure if they\u2019re all being hit by the same crews or different groups targeting the pocket-sized, colorful cartoon loot, or what they and police can do to stop them.<\/p>\n

Business owners say they\u2019ve been followed. Held at gunpoint. Pepper sprayed. Burglars have broken into their cars, tunneled into their businesses through the walls and the roof and smashed through the front.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now there\u2019s more security needed for Pokemon cards than diamonds,\u201d said Minatogawa, owner of Buddies Collectibles. \u201cIt\u2019s getting crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In multiple burglaries, thieves have walked right by the cash register and straight to the display cases, smashing the glass and fleeing with handfuls of valuable cards before police arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it was a bank and they got robbed for $200,000 it would be a big deal, but here they\u2019re still stealing valuables that are [worth] $200,000,\u201d Minatogawa said.<\/p>\n

\"Customers <\/p>\n

Customers browse Pokemon cards at RWT Collective.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Created in 1996, Pokemon exploded in popularity with children with the introduction of a Nintendo Game Boy game, which was followed by a cartoon series and trading card game. In the card game, players compete with a set of drawn cards that represent different creatures with a range of powers and skills, attacking and defending against each other until one side is defeated.<\/p>\n

As the game has aged, so have its fans. While children continue to collect and trade the brightly colored cards, sometimes for a favorite character, some adults have turned Pokemon card collecting into a lucrative hobby \u2014 and even a business.<\/p>\n

Collector card shows draw hundreds of vendor tables across the country and, vendors and collectors told The Times, each table easily can generate $15,000 a day in trades, sales and purchases.<\/p>\n

Companies like Beckett Grading Services and Professional Sports Authenticator, or PSA, which authenticate and grade the quality of collectible sports cards, now do the same with Pokemon cards. <\/p>\n

The service is worthwhile for collectors looking to keep track of high-value cards in the market, including their rarity and value. <\/p>\n

In 2022, PSA authenticated almost 3.4 million Pokemon cards, more than they did that year for football, basketball or baseball cards. Last year, a representative said, the company authenticated 11 million Pokemon cards \u2014 more than they did for the three major sports combined.<\/p>\n

\u201cPokemon is truly in a category of its own,\u201d said Elizabeth Gruene, general manager at PSA. \u201cPokemon is the only category that has sustained this type of global, year-over-year demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A vintage unopened package of Pokemon cards sold at Costco in 1999 sells for $10,000.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Some cards can yield thousands of dollars apiece, luring collectors willing to stake their livelihoods on them, and thieves looking to quickly sell them for cash online, at trade shows or at card shops.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago outside of RWT Collective in Sawtelle, thieves robbed a collector at gunpoint as he was leaving the store, police said.<\/p>\n

The victim had left a trading card show in Orange County that day and visited the Olympic Boulevard shop looking to barter, he told The Times. As the business was closing he headed to his car when he was targeted by two armed men.<\/p>\n

The victim believes he might have been followed from the show. Video surveillance shows the suspects briefly walking into RWT Collective, then walking outside to wait for the victim and his cards. <\/p>\n

The robbers made off with more than $300,000 worth of cards, the victim and the shop\u2019s co-owner said.<\/p>\n

The victim, who asked not to be identified for fear of impacting the investigation or being targeted again, said he\u2019s taken precautions in the past but never expected to be the victim of armed robbery. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s been collecting since 2016 and quit his job to focus on it. The robbery, he said, seriously impacted his financial situation. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s devastating,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way to describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A team member assists a customer in purchasing Pokemon cards at RWT Collective.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

News of the robbery quickly spread across a network of Southern California\u2019s top traders and trading card shop owners, a dozen of whom spoke to the The Times. They had been monitoring burglaries and thefts for the last six months, several said, and the armed robbery was especially alarming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a serious escalation with the weapons involved, the violence involved,\u201d said Danny Leserman, one of the RWT Collective owners. \u201cThis is obviously an issue that is growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leserman is one of the shop owners considering armed guards, a jarring decision that he said is difficult to consider because most of his clients are children who spend hours at the shop trading with others. But Pokemon cards\u2019 growing popularity are making them more attractive to criminals. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis industry, there\u2019s a lot of similarities to be made to the art world,\u201d Leserman said. \u201cThe only difference here is that it\u2019s art that could fit in your pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December, YouTuber Logan Paul said he paid $5.3 million for a single Pokemon card, a PSA Grade 9 Pikachu Illustrator that he said he plans to auction for a profit. The social media influencer has taken to wearing the card on a chain around his neck in videos.<\/p>\n

Part of what helped Pokemon expand in popularity for nearly three decades has been its wide appeal among boys, girls and adults and the growing universe of game variations and characters. Over the last 20 years, Pokemon card values skyrocketed more than 3,000%, more than any other sports card collectible, according to Gruene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also an element of nostalgia that helps drive its momentum,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat makes Pokemon unique is that it isn\u2019t aging out of its audience but it\u2019s expanding it, becoming a cornerstone of the modern collectibles hobby rather than a passing trend.\u201d<\/p>\n

The market for Pokemon cards is wide-ranging and includes online trading with overseas collectors who don\u2019t ask a lot of questions and are willing to pay top dollar for a rare card, those in the business say.<\/p>\n

Some shop owners are requesting photo identification when buying cards from customers, out of concern thieves may be trying to offload stolen goods, and sharing lists of what they\u2019ve lost with other businesses so they can look out for each other.<\/p>\n

The same day the collector was robbed outside of RWT Collective, burglars hit Simi Sportscards in Simi Valley, police said. At about 3:30 a.m., burglars broke into the shop and stole at least $10,000 worth of goods, much of it Pokemon cards, Simi Valley police Sgt. Rick Morton said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s high value in those,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a video posted by the shop on Instagram<\/a>, five suspects in hooded sweatshirts go directly to the card displays, smashing the glass and grabbing the cards. It\u2019s the second time the shop was hit in less than a year, Morton said.<\/p>\n

Simi Valley investigators are checking with other police departments including Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale for any connections among their cases. Collectors and shop owners have little doubt there\u2019s a link between some heists. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too sophisticated to be opportunist,\u201d said Cassius Van Wees, a former financial advisor and Pokemon card collector who\u2019s a part of the RWT Collective. <\/p>\n

He pointed to a pre-Halloween burglary, when he\u2019d decided to store rare, high-value cards from his personal collection at the shop so he could show them to children at a convention the next day.<\/p>\n

That night, he said, thieves tunneled into the shop through a neighboring business and made off with about $100,000 in cards. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey b-lined straight to my cabinet,\u201d Van Wees said. \u201cThey knew exactly what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though there have been arrests \u2014 Burbank police arrested four burglary suspects in early January \u2014 collectors and shop owners are on edge. In just the last two months, burglars collectively made off with more than $500,000 in Pokemon cards.<\/p>\n

Among the victims was Jerry Hernandez, whose Huntington Beach store, Box Cards & Collectibles, was hit the week before Christmas when thieves tunneled in through the roof.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to worry with so many other stores being hit,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cI feel like once we got hit and some of the other shops got hit it created a snowball effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, when someone he\u2019s not familiar with comes in trying to sell an expensive card, he reaches out to other collectors and shops to check if it might be one of their stolen cards. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never really imagined it would get to this point,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like we have to deal with it like we\u2019re a jewelry store.\u201d<\/p>\n