Two men have been arrested after allegedly stealing Magic cards from a comic book store and then crashing their car during a police chase.
With Pokemon and Magic cards being quite lucrative items over the years, we’ve seen quite an uptick in crimes related to each, but things got extreme this December when a theft led to a police pursuit.
On December 1 at 3:13 AM, the Murrieta Police Department says it received a call about a burglary in progress at Graham Cracker Comics.
The police say that the individual who reported the crime was monitoring CCTV cameras and could see two people smashing the store’s front window and taking items from inside.
Once officers showed up to the scene, a suspect was spotted in front of the business and attempted to flee only to be apprehended. The other, however, took off in a black Dodge Charger, causing police to quickly follow.
Comic book store theft ends in arrests and totaled getaway car
According to the cops, a vehicle pursuit ensued with sirens blaring. While officers lost track of the car, they soon discovered that it had crashed into the corner of a residence after the driver lost control.
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A perimeter was established and officers arrested both drivers who they later found hiding in a backyard. Both suspects had to be transported to a nearby hospital after sustaining injuries before being booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center.
While processing the crashed vehicle, officers found comics, Magic The Gathering cards, and other merchandise that had been allegedly stolen from the store alongside burglary tools.
25-year-old Anthony Shepherd was arrested for burglary, evading a peace officer, hit and run, and a parole violation.
Meanwhile, 37-year-old Nikida Staten was arrested for burglary, and possession of a controlled substance.
Amazingly, this isn’t the first time there’s been a high-speed chase over stolen cards this year. Back in July, a couple was charged after stealing Pokemon cards from Walmart and led cops on a high-speed chase in Ohio.