Chicago card shop hit in smash-and-grab, thieves steal $100,000 in collectibles

Two thieves smashed through Elite Sports Cards and Comics on Chicago’s Northwest Side and escaped with about $100,000 in Pokémon, sports and collectible football cards, a burglary that turned sealed hobby inventory into easy-to-move cash in less than four minutes.

Surveillance video captured the break-in at 3406 North Harlem Avenue in the Dunning neighborhood just before 2 a.m. Monday, April 20, 2026. Police said the suspects fled in an unknown vehicle after ripping into the store, while alarm bells rang inside the shop.

Owner Ronnie Holloway said the burglars went straight for high-end hobby product and took around $100,000 in valuable packs. He said much of the inventory had been brought in recently, making the loss especially damaging for a small business that depends on constant turnover and careful stocking. For Holloway, the burglary was not just a theft of merchandise but a direct hit to his livelihood and family income.

The case also fit a broader pattern that has made collectibles a more attractive target for organized theft. Pokémon cards and sports cards have become portable assets with clear resale value, easy to conceal and simple to move through secondary markets. That combination, high demand, compact packaging and fast cash conversion, makes them appealing to thieves who know a single raid can yield a large payout.

Holloway said this was not the first time thieves had targeted one of his businesses. Three and a half years ago, he bought Chicago’s oldest card store in the Montrose neighborhood from an owner who had run it for 41 years. That shop was targeted in 2022, deepening his sense that his businesses are being singled out.

Chicago Police Area Five detectives are investigating. The burglary adds to growing concern among card dealers that the hobby’s booming value has also made it a harder target, with rare packs and sealed boxes functioning less like simple merchandise and more like highly portable financial assets.