3 Burglaries, 3 Hobby Shops, One Night

Law enforcement agencies in Northwest Florida are investigating multiple hobby shop burglaries that took place in a matter of two hours, at least two  of which resulted in a six-figure losses.

Reports say four people broke into Instant Replay Sports Cards on Highway 231 in Panama City last Thursday, smashing display cases and robbing the shop of about $150,000 worth of trading cards and other memorabilia in about two and a half minutes.

Among the missing items are graded modern cards and vintage cards of Hall of Famers such as Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Pete Rose.

A spokesman for the store told SC Daily Monday they’re still compiling a list of the missing cards for investigators to work with.

Meanwhile, Comic Emporium—also in the Panama City area—lost over $100,000 worth of merchandise to a similar smash and grab that took place around 2 AM. 

Surveillance photos show someone using a hammer to break the front door and images of four men inside the store, stealing numerous trading cards, baseball cards and sports memorabilia items.

An hour after that, burglars also hit PCB Coins and Cards in nearby Panama City Beach, where Bay County Sheriff’s deputies say they found the front door smashed.

A review of store video revealed two male suspects removing merchandise from the shelves and display cases before running out after about 45 seconds.

Some of the burglars were seen wearing lights attached to masks covering their faces.

WJHG-TV reports on the latter two cases.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at 850-747-4700 or place a tip through Crime Stoppers at 785-TIPS.

About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for over 35 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]