Massive theft at Dallas card show, Nearly 2 Million Dollars worth of cards stolen

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by SyrNy1960

Yeah, in the Memory Lane theft thread, I didn't understand it either. Focus should be on the criminals, merchandise, and how the theft occurred. Sympathy for the victim, until proven otherwise.

There was a debate of whether Memory Lane should have continued to auction off the cards after they were stolen. If Ash were to auction these stolen cards off now I imagine there would be a similar debate.

[packs]

Do people really think the cards would end up at a pawn shop? The people who stole these cards seemed to target the case, and I'm guessing it was because they understood the value of what was inside. For them to understand cards, they'd also have to understand how easy it is to track them with flip numbers, and they'd also have to know how little they'd get from a pawn shop.

I would struggle to make sense of the theft if the purpose of the theft was to received 10 to 15% of the cards actual value at a pawn shop.

[gregndodgers]

Of all the places the cards could be sold, selling to a pawn shop would IMO be the last resort. But they have to be sold somewhere. Like pawn shops, card shops would also be a fairy low return.

However, I'd be willing to bet that some of these thieves are not the sharpest tools in the shed, and at some point might get desperate and make a mistake. If they have to pay a bill or some other expense, they may try to flip a couple of cards for quick cash. It's possible.

The main point is that to catch these guys, every option must be considered, no matter how remote. That's my belief anyway.

I was in well known card shop the other day, and a guy walked up to me while I was in the store and showed me some pictures on his phone of raw cards and asked if I would like to buy them. My first thought was that they were stolen. I just walked away.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by packs

Do people really think the cards would end up at a pawn shop? The people who stole these cards seemed to target the case, and I'm guessing it was because they understood the value of what was inside. For them to understand cards, they'd also have to understand how easy it is to track them with flip numbers, and they'd also have to know how little they'd get from a pawn shop.

I would struggle to make sense of the theft if the purpose of the theft was to received 10 to 15% of the cards actual value at a pawn shop.

+1

From the video evidence, these thieves were competent, bordering on professional. Competent/professional thieves avoid pawn shops. Speaking as a former pawn shop manager: While the exact steps and requirements vary by jurisdiction, in most cases, people selling or pawning items have to present a valid, government issued photo ID with name and address (which the shop makes a copy of and files) and get their picture taken (plus all the in-store security footage). In PA, records for all items that the store purchases or takes in on pawn are uploaded to law enforcement daily (exactly which law enforcement varies. Larger departments may actually have a pawn division which works exclusively with pawn/second hand stores. Rural areas often use the state police. Where I worked, there was a county detectives office and they got all the records)

Also, this means that at least in PA, if recovery of the items is your goal, you DO NOT WANT TO ALERT THE PAWN SHOP. If you alert the pawn shop, they won't buy or pawn it it (they legally aren't allowed to at that point), and they won't get the ID with name and address of the people who currently possess it (if you can think of a good cover story to get someone to hand over their ID and get their picture taken even though you're declining to take their items in, I'd love to hear it). You'll be no closer to getting your stuff back. If you don't alert the pawn shop, they'll buy/pawn it, law enforcement will see it on their daily report and notify the shop they're seizing the items. Police will come to the shop, which will give them the stuff, the copy of the photo ID with name and address and the photo that they took, even download store security footage if the officer feels it's necessary. Since the form people have to sign (again this may be PA specific) states that they have the legal right to dispose of the property, the pawn shop will file a complaint for theft by deception which a) adds another charge to the perps and b) at least theoretically, is how the shop recovers its money. That does suck for the shop, as court ordered restitution is slow coming, but it's the quickest way for the victim to get their items back.

[gregndodgers]

Originally Posted by Musashi

+1

From the video evidence, these thieves were competent, bordering on professional. Competent/professional thieves avoid pawn shops. Speaking as a former pawn shop manager: While the exact steps and requirements vary by jurisdiction, in most cases, people selling or pawning items have to present a valid, government issued photo ID with name and address (which the shop makes a copy of and files) and get their picture taken (plus all the in-store security footage). In PA, records for all items that the store purchases or takes in on pawn are uploaded to law enforcement daily (exactly which law enforcement varies. Larger departments may actually have a pawn division which works exclusively with pawn/second hand stores. Rural areas often use the state police. Where I worked, there was a county detectives office and they got all the records)

Also, this means that at least in PA, if recovery of the items is your goal, you DO NOT WANT TO ALERT THE PAWN SHOP. If you alert the pawn shop, they won't buy or pawn it it (they legally aren't allowed to at that point), and they won't get the ID with name and address of the people who currently possess it (if you can think of a good cover story to get someone to hand over their ID and get their picture taken even though you're declining to take their items in, I'd love to hear it). You'll be no closer to getting your stuff back. If you don't alert the pawn shop, they'll buy/pawn it, law enforcement will see it on their daily report and notify the shop they're seizing the items. Police will come to the shop, which will give them the stuff, the copy of the photo ID with name and address and the photo that they took, even download store security footage if the officer feels it's necessary. Since the form people have to sign (again this may be PA specific) states that they have the legal right to dispose of the property, the pawn shop will file a complaint for theft by deception which a) adds another charge to the perps and b) at least theoretically, is how the shop recovers its money. That does suck for the shop, as court ordered restitution is slow coming, but it's the quickest way for the victim to get their items back.

Great info. So there you go. We've only learned this by asking questions. Again, the idea is to leave no stone unturned.

However, I wonder how closely the cops monitor the "daily report." I would think that stolen baseball cards are NOT high on their list of priorities. I would think it depends on jurisdiction and other factors.

[ALBB]

Yea,
thats a awful lot of photos of those guys, gotta be dozens of people who know who they are

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by gregndodgers

I would think it depends on jurisdiction and other factors.

There probably is variation based on jurisdiction. The folks I dealt with were pretty thorough.

While I agree that "baseball cards" in general is unlikely to jump to the top of anyone's priority list, in this particular case the "2 million+" under value of stolen property will jump out, and might trigger some extraordinary measures. There were times I was asked by LE to watch for certain items or people. I was given a phone number that, if it was safe to do so, I was to call and ask for "Nora" (Need Officer Right Away) and stall them until LE arrived. Never actually had to make a call, but you'd be surprised how many contingencies are planned for.

[gregndodgers]

Originally Posted by Musashi

There probably is variation based on jurisdiction. The folks I dealt with were pretty thorough.

While I agree that "baseball cards" in general is unlikely to jump to the top of anyone's priority list, in this particular case the "2 million+" under value of stolen property will jump out, and might trigger some extraordinary measures. There were times I was asked by LE to watch for certain items or people. I was given a phone number that, if it was safe to do so, I was to call and ask for "Nora" (Need Officer Right Away) and stall them until LE arrived. Never actually had to make a call, but you'd be surprised how many contingencies are planned for.

Great info. Thanks