Florida man breaks into store with chainsaw, steals $12K worth of Pokémon cards

A West Palm Beach man allegedly broke into a Lake Park store to steal Pokémon cards — using a chainsaw.

According to an arrest report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Clayton Warren, 33, was arrested and charged with burglary and grand theft after the owner of Collection Realm in Lake Park contacted PBSO on May 21 to report an overnight burglary.

Surveillance video showed a man using a battery-powered chainsaw to cut a triangle into the hurricane-proof front window. In the process, blood was left behind. Warren initially attempted to break the window with a rock.

After watching surveillance video, the owner estimated that $12,000 worth of Pokémon cards were taken — both sleeved cards and bulk bonus cards. Surveillance also showed that a man matching Warren's appearance had been in the store on May 19.

Investigators used a license plate reader to locate Warren's vehicle, which was captured on surveillance cameras, and found it was registered to a West Palm Beach address. A search warrant was provided and Warren was arrested at the home.

He is being charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure and grand theft greater than $10,000 but less than $20,000.

The theft in Lake Park, Florida, is similar to several break-ins across the country involving Pokémon cards.

Sports collectibles and Pokémon are a hot commodity in hobby circles. Pokémon, in particular, routinely has cards from recent sets that sell for hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the second-hand market.

Earlier this month, two people broke into a trading card store at a Cary shopping center and stole more than $45,000 worth of Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards. Both people in the robbery were arrested. In October, three collectible stores in the Triangle were targeted by a thief who stole thousands of dollars of Pokémon cards, leading to store owners boosting their security.

The Pokémon Company, which has produced cards since 2003 when it took over printing from Wizards of the Coast, has printed more cards than it ever has to keep up with demand. Since Pokémon cards were first printed in 1996, more than 75 billion have been printed, with more than 50% of card printings coming in the last five years.