PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - At 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, Red Castle Games in southeast Portland was broken into.
The thief, seen in the store's surveillance footage, took approximately $1,200 worth of collectible gaming cards, according to the store.
"They used a crowbar to get in and then they damaged one of our display cases and stole some trading card game products," said Rowan Dery, shift lead at Red Castle Games. "Sounds like it was mostly Pokémon and YU-GI-OH!"
Unfortunately, break-ins like this are nothing new to Red Castle Games. The store was hit with a string of break-ins in 2023. Dery has been working at Red Castle Games since 2021 and said it's frustrating to see yet another break-in take place.
"We had a string of break-ins last year, so it's been pretty unfortunate to watch that happen while I've been working here," Dery said.
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Red Castle Games is a small business located on Southeast Foster Road. For them, $1,200 is a considerable amount of money.
"Any theft at all is a pretty big hit for us because we're all struggling out here, but $1,200 all at once is not ideal," Dery said.
The holiday season is a busy time of year for Red Castle Games. From crafts to family-friendly board games, to more competitive card games, the store has something for everyone.
Dery said the break-in right before Christmas put a damper on the holiday spirit.
"Especially around the holidays, it's supposed to be a time of joy and excitement and it's really sad that it happened now," they said.
Red Castle Games and its staff make it a point to welcome and support its local community of gamers. After the break-in, Dery said it feels good to receive that very same support from shoppers.
"We really do try to make everybody feel welcome and like they're family when they're in here," Dery said. "To have that reflected back at us as the staff members feels really good. It's like we're succeeding in making people feel safe here."
Red Castle Games is encouraging anyone with information on Saturday's break-in to get in touch with the Portland Police Bureau.