Two brothers from Lebanon County have been charged in the theft of a valuable manga playing card from a collectible card store in Wyomissing.
Richard Figueroa, 44, of Myerstown and Luis A. Figueroa-Pacheco, 46, of Lebanon were identified as the suspects by an anonymous tipster to Crime Alert Berks County, police said.
Richard Figueroa was taken into custody Wednesday night by Berks County deputy sheriffs. He was committed to Berks County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail following arraignment before District Judge Priscilla Campos in Reading Central Court. Luis Figueroa-Pacheco was not in custody as of Thursday morning.
Wyomissing police charged Luis Figueroa-Pacheco with a felony count each of retail theft, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. Richard Figueroa was charged with a felony conspiracy count and driving while under a suspended or revoked license.
The theft occurred Aug. 28 practically under the noise of an employee at Key Items Collectibles’ Berkshire Mall store, investigators said.
A Sabo Red Manga #120 PSA Grade 10 card was stolen from an unlocked case near the register was. The limited-edition card —from the One Piece-Carrying on His Will game set based on a popular anime series — is believed to be worth as much as $8,000 and hasn’t been recovered, investigators said.
According to the probable cause affidavit:
About 4 p.m., security camera footage shows the brothers inside the store engaging in a brief conversation before separating. A man in a black T-shirt, floral pants, glasses and a black hat — later identified as Richard Figueroa — walks up to the counter and begins engaging store employees. This serves as a distraction for his brother to reach over the counter unnoticed and take the card from the case.
Detectives obtained still images of the two potential suspects and posted them on the Wyomissing Police Department Facebook page in early September. As a result, police received an anonymous tip on the identities of both men.
Investigators confirmed the accuracy of that tip. First, they found footage of Figueroa, who left the store after his brother left, talking to another patron. In the audio, Figueroa is heard identifying himself as “Richard” before shaking hands with the person.
Detective Ryan Solecki sent the footage to Richard Figueroa’s state parole agent, who confirmed that the “Richard” in the footage is Richard Figueroa. According to online court records, Figueroa was sentenced to 1 to 5 years in state prison in 2024 after pleading guilty in Lebanon County Court to driving under the influence of a controlled substance — his second DUI offense — and hit-and-run.
In an interview with Solecki, Figueroa said he is a trading card enthusiast who frequents gaming card stores, often to buy and sell cards.
He said he drove his brother and a younger relative to the Berkshire Mall the afternoon of Aug. 28 in his truck, which Solecki noted was confirmed by license plate readers in the area of the mall at the time of the theft. After their interaction in the mall, he drove everyone back to Lebanon County.
Figueroa wasn’t taken into custody at the conclusion of that interview, and after he didn’t turn himself in as expected, police requested the sheriff’s warrants division locate him and take him into custody. Arrest details were unavailable.