WEBSTER, Texas – Webster police arrested two men accused of breaking into a collectibles store last week and stealing thousands of dollars worth of Pokémon cards.
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What we know:
The burglary happened around 2:30 a.m. on July 7 at Cantu Collectibles along State Highway 3in Webster.
Surveillance video shows the suspects smashing the store’s front glass door before rushing inside and ransacking the place.
Kevin Chap, the owner of Cantu Collectibles, said he found out about the burglary after getting an alert on his phone.
“I checked the cameras, and sure enough there were two gentlemen in the store, so I immediately alerted my business partner, who is a police officer. He was already on the phone with dispatch. They were definitely targeting higher end Pokémon cards. They were only here for about 60 seconds until they got spooked and saw an officer coming down the street,” said Chap.
According to Webster police, officers tried to stop the suspects’ vehicle leaving the parking lot, but the driver refused to pull over, leading police on a 31-mile pursuit that ended in Houston near Westheimer and Fondren.
Police arrested Nara Ouch and Ray Stidham. Both were charged with burglary. Ouch is also charged with evading arrest.
Chap believes the same suspects may be linked to other burglaries at collectibles stores across the Houston area.
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FOX 26 reported on a string of break-ins at collectibles stores in Katy, Cypress and Bellaire, including Rev Collectibles, Omega Gaming, Ferguson Brothers, SJ Cards and One Stop Card Shop.
The co-owner of SJ Cards says the same suspects were previously caught on separate occasions selling stolen Pokémon cards taken from his store. He also believes the suspects used the same vehicle in multiple burglaries.
Store owners are now warning other businesses to have safeguards in place to help protect their stores.
“Just make sure you’re putting away all your valuable products, make sure you have a good security system, make sure you have a system like this in case this happens,” said Chap. “Just don’t get discouraged as well. We are all in it together, all trying to grow the hobby.”
Chap says his store has only been open for about five months, and he now plans to install additional security measures. He said all the stolen items at his store were recovered. However, other store owners say they haven’t been as fortunate.
What’s next:
Authorities continue to investigate and are working to determine whether the burglaries are connected.
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