09-02-2025
Thieves in Wichita are targeting stores that sell Pokemon, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards
Davin and Bailey Taylor thought about closing up shop after their card store near downtown Wichita was broken into for a second time less than a year after opening.
Instead, they decided to close in Wichita at the end of last year and move to Derby, where they will reopen Arena Hobbies on March 1 at 200 N Baltimore Suite No. 900.
The two break-ins totaled around $38,000 in merchandise —$8,000 worth taken in the first break-in on July 26 and $30,000 on Oct. 14 — from the store at 1602 East Waterman, Davin Taylor said. There was damage too.
And that wasn't the end of break-ins and thefts at stores that sell and host people to play collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon.
'Over the pandemic, trading cards blew up. Value spiked. People were scalping Pokemon left and right. People caught wind that cards have value,' Taylor said. 'And since the pandemic, a lot of people are in the game now, but I believe, personally, that these people realize that hobby shops don't have the level of security that a bank does, but they can probably get just as much value and product as though they were robbing a bank.'
There have been at least six thefts from different stores since then.
'It's the same modus operandi for all of them,' said Brian Hunter, a U.S. Army veteran and retired deputy who owns Wizard's Alley. 'They can basically smash in a glass door, run in and grab whatever they scoped out, and then run out. They're in and out in a couple minutes.'
Here are the other break-ins since the two at Arena Hobbies:
Nov. 26 — About $500 in damage to the door and $500 in product stolen at Rated E Cards & Collectibles, 2326 E. Douglas, according to co-owner Ernest Oliphant
Dec. 1 — Roughly $125 in cards taken and around $800 in damage to the door at Wizard's Alley, 114 N. Saint Francis, according to Hunter.
Dec. 28 — About $2,000 in damage to the door and cards taken at One Drop Game Shop, 2718 N. Amidon, according to owner Dale Allen.
Jan. 5 — About $2,000 in damage to the door and cards taken at One Drop Game Shop, Allen said. Allen said he didn't want to give the amounts of the cards stolen since it was still under investigation, but the thieves clearly targeted high-end cards and had 'cased the store beforehand.' He said the evidence they submitted to Wichita police including the thieves using a 'very distinctive color bag.'
Jan. 6 — About $500 of damage to the door and $8,000 worth of product taken, including Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, at Rated E Cards & Collectibles, according to Oliphant.
Jan. 29 — An estimated $4,000 to $5,000 in cards and tools were taken, including a roughly $600 Trafalgar card from One Piece Card Game, at Pink Elephant Games and Cafe, at 2431 West Pawnee, according to assistant manager Adam Browning. The door was smashed as well, but Browning didn't have an estimate to replace the door. Someone also tried to break in in November by trying to drill through the back door, he said.
Wichita police Capt. Aaron Moses said the newly formed property crimes task force is trying to identify suspects and stop the thefts.
'We think some may be connected, and we're continuing our investigation to determine which crimes may have been committed by the same suspects, or if there are multiple groups of suspects,' Moses said.
There has been one arrest, in the first break-in at Arena Hobbies. Charles Ray Emerson, 35, of Wichita has been charged with burglary, theft and criminal damage to property for the break-in.
Davin Taylor said they reviewed security footage from the break-in and from the store that week and were able to identify a suspect who also came in the Tuesday before the robbery.
'He had a neck tattoo that matched the video; he had his hair in a man bun which was obvious from his mask. He was wearing a clown mask … He had the same kind of stature,' Taylor said. 'He scoped the store out with his friends and then he alone came into the store … He cleared out our shelves … we had a lot of high-end cards on the shelf, so it was mainly Pokemon, One Piece and Magic cards.'
They handed over that info to police.
Taylor said police found a bunch of the cards, including ones with the same serial number, in the suspect's car. Many of them were damaged. He thinks police still have them in evidence.
The landlord paid for the damage to the door, he said, and they had about $8,000 taken in cards.
Taylor said another man tried to sell one of their cards at Vintage Stock, but staff at the store didn't take it and alerted the Taylors about finding the card. The man left before police arrived.
Just like the first break-in and theft, the Taylors had an alarm when their store was hit again on Oct. 14.
When the store was hit again on Oct. 14, the two suspects were in and out pretty quick, but then came back about 40 minutes later with a dolly. This time, they took the safe.
'It had all of our inventory in it,' Taylor said.
'There was an alarm, it was going off the whole time,' he said, adding they thought the alarm would alert police but it didn't. When asked how they would have known, he said: 'I don't know. They, I don't know.'
Cameras picked up the vehicle they came in. The vehicle was stolen, Taylor said police told him.
'After the first robbery, I purchased a big $12,000 collection and then we purchased another $3,000 Pokemon collection,' he said. 'We were calculating with the insurance, it was closer to $30,000. And that's the face value of the cards.'
The suspects took Pokemon, One Piece and Magic cards. The Taylors are going through their insurance for both break-ins.
The Taylors thought about closing up shop.
'After the dust settled, and after a few months of thinking about it, we decided we love our community a lot,' he said. 'A lot of people showed up, and a lot of people came and supported us, and we just don't want to give up because somebody wants to take our stuff.'
Hunter, the Taylors and other shops have all chipped in to offer a $2,000 reward for any tips that lead to an arrest.
'Two grand might make someone snitch,' Hunter said.
Taylor said: 'We want to find these guys. I am sure my safe has already been broken into since.'
