$4K exclusive Japanese Pokémon card stolen at trading event, Houston collector says
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Inside Carlos Nazario's trading card store in north Houston is a walk down memory lane for many.
"That's the box. That's the original booster box from 1999 as well," Nazario said.
He collects, buys, and sells Pokémon cards. He has thousands spanning from several decades.
It's a hobby many would dream about as a kid, and now it's a profitable business.
"This one, I'd estimate worth somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000," he said, pointing at a card.
The problem is, Nazario says, now that people know the value of these collectibles, he needs to keep a closer eye on that.
"People steal things all the time. I guess it's starting to become more common at events and stuff," he said.
That's exactly what happened to him over the weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
He said someone stole a rare Japanese exclusive Pokémon card, which he says is worth nearly $4,000.
He was working as a vendor at Collect-A-Con when he noticed it was gone.
"I was a little bit distracted. Dealing with people, conversing, and during that time, he took advantage of me being distracted, lifted that card from the Collect-A-Con," he said.
Nazario immediately told police and also posted a photo of the stolen card on a local Pokémon card Facebook group so others could be on the lookout.
That's when he got a call from a storeowner in Pearland who said the man called them about selling that same card.
"He says, 'The guy actually walked in, didn't even let us know he was coming. He has the card and some other Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. It's the same card.' Then he said, 'We've already notified authorities and they're on their way,'" he said.
The store owner told Nazario the man took off when he saw the officers.
"The shop owner was able to get a picture of the license plate. They did, fortunately, have video footage," he said.
After speaking to others in the industry, he believes the man has done this before and is worried it could happen again.
"My hope is, at least, we can bust this guy. It's not the first time he's done it, and it's not the last time," he said.
