SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A popular Santa Barbara comic book shop is reeling after its second break-in in four months, with both incidents targeting valuable Pokémon cards.
Metro Entertainment, located on Anapamu Street, was burglarized around 6 a.m. Thursday. Store owner Bob Ficarra said a suspect used a sledgehammer to smash through the front window and stole more than $10,000 worth of Pokémon cards.
“This morning, around 6 a.m., somebody broke into our store, came in through our front window, smashed it with a sledgehammer, stole well over $10,000 worth of stuff. And within a minute, they’re out,” Ficarra said. “Sadly, it’s the second time in the last four months it has happened.”
A similar burglary occurred in January, with thieves also taking about $10,000 in Pokémon merchandise.
Ficarra said the store’s alarm system was triggered within 30 seconds, and Santa Barbara police arrived within minutes. But by then, the thieves had already fled.
“They’re in and out within a minute,” Ficarra said. “Our alarms go off quickly, they’re very loud, but the thieves can leave very quickly.”
Despite having security cameras, motion detectors and alarms, Ficarra said it’s difficult to prevent smash-and-grab burglaries.
“Besides barring the front windows and having it be like a police state, I’m not sure what else we could do that’s financially feasible,” he said.
Ficarra also expressed frustration over what he described as limited follow-up from Santa Barbara Police after the January break-in.
“We have plenty of information for them. We have IDs, pictures of them... which they have not followed up on,” he said.
He believes Metro Entertainment is being targeted due to the high value and resale potential of certain products.
“There’s some high-end things that we have that could be sold for pennies on the dollar pretty easily,” Ficarra said.
Beyond the financial damage, the emotional toll on staff has been heavy.
“Both myself and the staff are feeling really invaded,” he said. “We’ve been here 34 years. We’ve given a lot to the community. We’ve gone above and beyond.”
The break-in comes just days before Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, one of the store’s biggest events of the year.
“It’s the biggest day of the year for us, and a really fun event,” Ficarra said. “Lots of costumed characters, giving away lots of product, a lot of family, a lot of community. So that’s kind of put a damper on the week. But we’ll snap out of it.”
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