An early-morning theft at Metro Entertainment, a Santa Barbara comic and game store, has resulted in a loss of $10,000 in rare Pokémon trading cards.

The burglary occurred around 4 a.m. Thursday after a thief broke the deadlock on the shop’s front door at 6 W. Anapamu St. and triggered the building’s alarm.

Owner Bob Ficarra said he was alerted to the break-in shortly after it happened because of the alarm and that the Santa Barbara Police Department showed up after the system was triggered.

“The police responded within six minutes, so definitely a snatch and grab,” Ficarra said. “And, sadly, no one’s been caught yet, but we have hopes.”

The lone suspect had already made his escape with the cards by the time police officers arrived at the scene. The shop does have cameras, but the suspect wore a face covering.  

The SBPD has not named a suspect, but Ficarra said the police are investigating the crime and hope to use street cameras to help identify the culprit.

Ficarra said the thief stole 60 to 70 cards with a total value of about $10,000. He believes the suspect intended to steal the cards and knew where they were.

Pokémon is one of the most popular franchises in the world, and the market for trading cards has grown more lucrative in recent years. Some of the cards stolen were individually worth thousands of dollars.

“Pokémon has just been a red-hot collectible since the early ’90s, and there has been a resurgence the last few years with the Pokémon Go mobile game. Every kid in school, the popular kids all love Pokémon (…). So, it’s just been a thriving collectible,” Ficarra said.

The community responded to the burglary with a flood of support for Ficarra and his store. He has owned the shop for 34 years and originally worked an extra job to get the store off the ground.

People from the community have brought coffee, food, cakes and other treats for him and his staff. Longtime customers and friends have shown up to buy extra comics or figures to help the local comic shop.

“People came in specifically just to spend a few dollars because we’ve been around for 34 years, and they brought their kids and their kids brought their kids here,” Ficarra said.