A recent break-in at a Wallaceburg toy and collectables store appears to have been a planned-out theft, according to the store's owner.
Chatham-Kent police were called to Toy Wars and Collectibles located at 21 Arnold Street around 7 a.m. on Friday, August 26.
Owner Andrew Bourdeau was on vacation at the time of the break-in. He said it was the first time he was away from the store since it opened almost three years ago.
Bourdeau posted about the incident on social media, including surveillance photos of the suspect smashing a glass window sometime between Thursday night and early Friday morning.
He said about $6,000 worth of comic books and Pokemon cards were stolen from the store.
"All of the graded comic books that we had in stock were stolen, we had 12 of them, there was also a few high-value Pokemon cards stolen as well," said Bourdeau. "I don't know if there was anything else that was stolen yet until I actually get to the store, but the theft was in and out in about 60 seconds."
Bourdeau said his grandmother was watching over the store while he was away.
"Police said it was probably someone who was in the store over the past month or two because they knew exactly what to grab and where it was," said Bourdeau. "Right now, we are reviewing the camera footage and matching up the best picture to the man that was on the camera."
According to Bourdeau, some of the comic books that were stolen included several Batman comic books, a couple of Avengers titles, an Amazing Spiderman comic, and a Supergirl title.
"We have never been broken into in almost three years of being open," said Bourdeau. "We're hoping this thief can be caught with everything that he had."
Anyone who can help with the investigation is asked to call Chatham-Kent Police Constable Grant Renders at grantr@chatham-kent.ca or Crime Stoppers.
