SAN ANTONIO — A burglar stole tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of sports cards from Sports Cards Plus.
The burglary in early May marked the second break-in in five months for the business on the north side of San Antonio.
Charlie DiPietro, the owner of the store, says the crook made off with $40,000 in the last theft. In the recent two burglaries combined, he says, $70,000 worth of merchandise was stolen.
Surveillance cameras in the shop caught the crook attempting to pick the door lock in the latest break-in.
DiPietro believes the criminal spent time planning the hit on his store.
"He ran in the store, went to three spots where I had the National Treasure (trading cards)...grabbed those and left,” DiPietro said. “I mean, he was just in and out."
He says some of the packages stolen were filled with National Treasures Sports Trading Cards.
"It's got eight cards in there, this one is about $1,000 dollars a box," DiPietro said.
"People put them in their closet literally just letting them sit there as investments," a customer added.
In 28 years, DiPietro says his store has been burglarized five times.
To help catch the bandit, he is offering a $5,000 reward on top of the $5,000 Crime Stoppers is offering for anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the burglar.
DiPietro says he’s frustrated because, in the past, his insurance company has dropped him, and he’s struggled to find coverage.
Other popular stories on KENS5.com