Two men are facing burglary charges after a break-in at a collectible card shop in Webster, Texas, that police say was part of a wider string of overnight raids targeting stores across the Houston area. The pre-dawn break-in ended with a lengthy police chase and two arrests, and the store's owner believes the same crew has been hitting a number of other shops that cater to trading-card collectors around the region.
The burglary happened at Cantu Collectibles, a shop along State Highway 3 near Orchard Street in Webster. Officers were called to the store at around 2:30 in the morning on July 7, after two men smashed the glass front door, rushed inside and ransacked the place. Surveillance video from the store captured the break-in as it unfolded, showing the intruders moving quickly through the shop.
What the intruders were after quickly became clear. Police and the owner said the pair were specifically targeting higher-end Pokemon cards, the kind that can fetch significant sums among collectors. They were inside for only about 60 seconds before they appeared to get spooked, seeing an officer coming down the street, and moved to flee the scene before they could clear out more of the store.
The store's owner, Kevin Chapp, said he learned of the break-in almost immediately. An alert reached his phone, and when he checked his cameras he saw two men inside his store. He said he alerted his business partner, who is a police officer and was already on the phone with dispatch, a connection that helped speed the response to the scene as the burglars tried to get away.
As officers tried to stop the suspects' vehicle from leaving the parking lot, the driver refused to pull over. That set off a pursuit that stretched roughly 31 miles before it finally ended in Houston, near Westheimer and Fondren. Police arrested the two men, identified as Nara Ouch and Ray Stidham. Both were charged with burglary, and Ouch was additionally charged with evading arrest.
Chapp believes the pair are connected to a rash of similar break-ins at collectible stores around the region. Comparable burglaries have been reported at shops in Katy, Cypress and Bel Air, including businesses such as Rev Collectibles, Omega Gaming, Ferguson Brothers, SJ Cards and One Stop Card Shop. He said the raids tend to follow the same pattern, with intruders striking at around two or three in the morning, and that he believes the same vehicle was used in several of them.
For Cantu Collectibles, which has been open only about five months, the outcome was better than for some. Chapp said all of the stolen items were recovered, though he added that other store owners had not been as fortunate. He now plans to add extra security, and owners across the hobby are urging one another to lock away valuable stock and install strong alarm systems, warning that the burglars have shown they are willing to keep coming back.