Triangle Area Trading Cards in Cary woke up to a mess Tuesday, after a pre-dawn smash-and-grab left glass on the floor, display cases shattered and staff scrambling to figure out what was gone. Cary police say two people forced their way into the shop, and a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old juvenile have now been charged in the case. Surveillance footage shared by the store shows two masked figures using a shopping cart and a tool to break out a front window before loading duffel bags with trading-card products.
Arrests and charges
Court records show James Mitchell Fillingame, 20, of Harrisburg, is charged with breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, injury to property and resisting an officer, and an unnamed 17-year-old faces similar counts, according to The News & Observer. Fillingame is being held in Wake County custody on $15,000 bail, the records indicate.
Video and shop reaction
The shop posted an apparent surveillance clip along with a message that it would be closed while owners cleaned up and assessed the damage. Owner Adam Reynolds told WRAL that Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon packs were specifically targeted. WRAL reported Reynolds woke to alarm notifications around 5:15 a.m. and that officers were already on the scene when he arrived. The station added that the shop hoped to reopen quickly after repairing the window.
Court records on losses
Court documents allege the suspects took roughly $32,826 worth of cards and related items, listing trading-card boxes, trainer boxes, sports-card boxes, tokens and cash among the stolen property, according to The News & Observer. Records also say the forced entry damaged a front window and a display case and that one suspect ran from Cary police during the response.
A wider pattern
The Cary incident echoes a string of break-ins at Triangle trading-card shops last October, when thieves took thousands of dollars in Pokémon product, ABC11 reported. The Los Angeles Times has documented similar smash-and-grab raids in Southern California earlier this year, highlighting a broader national spike in attacks on collectible-card shops.
What shop owners are doing
Owners say the thefts have forced them to rethink security and inventory practices and to lean on local networks to spot stolen product. Triangle Area Trading Cards describes itself on its website as having one of the region's most complete Pokémon collections, and the shop said it appreciated customer support as it repaired its storefront. Investigations are ongoing and officers continue to follow leads.
