Spartanburg police are asking anyone who can identify a man accused of stealing a child's Pokémon card collection to come forward, after the cards, kept together in a binder, were taken from the young owner. Officials say the theft has left investigators without a suspect name, and they're turning to the public for leads.
According to FOX Carolina News, the Spartanburg Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying the man who stole the child's Pokémon card collection. Officials told the outlet the cards were kept inside a binder when they were taken. Anyone who recognizes the man or has information on the theft is asked to contact Officer Russo at 864-913-9041.
A Wider Pattern Of Card Thefts In Spartanburg
The binder theft is far from an isolated incident in the area. The same report notes that a group of thieves stole more than $1,000 worth of Pokémon cards from two Spartanburg game stores in a separate case, per the station's reporting on regional card crime. Among the cards taken was a Mega Gengar card valued at around $1,400, lifted from Spartan Games on East Main Street.
That stolen Mega Gengar card was reportedly sold to a shop called Cheerful TCG for $1,200 before the store realized it had been stolen, the same account states. Cheerful TCG has been targeted before — the shop lost $55,000 in a robbery in 2024 in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, according to the same report.
Why Pokémon Cards Have Become A Target
Trading card games like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering saw a surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, a boom that helped push up the value of rare cards, the report notes. Some special printings can now sell for more than $1,000, and the collector market has produced jaw-dropping sales nationally — in 2023, singer Post Malone paid $2 million for a serialized one-of-one copy of a trading card known as The One Ring.
That rising value appears to be fueling theft elsewhere too. In March, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Florida announced the arrest of two suspects connected to the theft of a rare Pokémon card valued at approximately $1,050. The card, identified as a Mega Gengar ex 284/217, was taken from a local card shop on March 17, 2026.
Florida Case Shows How Charges Can Follow
Detectives in that Florida case said the same two suspects had committed a similar theft earlier that month at another store in downtown St. Petersburg. The sheriff's office said both suspects are facing grand theft charges in connection with the stolen card. One of them, identified by detectives as Enrique Saucedo, also had an outstanding Tampa Police Department warrant for kidnapping, false imprisonment and domestic violence battery in an unrelated case, according to the sheriff's office.
No such arrest has been announced in the Spartanburg case involving the child's stolen collection. For now, investigators are relying on the public to help put a name to the man they're looking for, with Officer Russo serving as the point of contact for anyone with information.
