Pair stole Pokémon cards from Cary hobby shop in pre-dawn break-in, police say
Cary police charged a Cabarrus County man and a juvenile with breaking into and stealing Pokémon cards and other collectibles from a Cary hobby shop Tuesday.
James Mitchell Fillingame, 20, of Harrisburg, N.C., is accused of breaking and entering at Triangle Area Trading Cards off Jones Franklin Road, court records show. He is also charged with larceny after breaking and entering, injury to property and resisting an officer. An unnamed 17-year-old was also charged with similar offenses.
Fillingame stole cards worth $32,826, court records allege. Those included trading card boxes, trainer card boxes, sports card boxes, tokens and cash. Fillingame allegedly damaged a window by the main door and a case in front of the door and window. Fillingame allegedly ran from Cary police when officers responded.
Triangle Area Trading Cards’ owner, Adam Reynolds, told WRAL Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon cards were targeted in the burglary. The store boasts a Pokémon card offering that is “one of the most complete collections in the Triangle” on its website.
Triangle Area Trading Cards announced Tuesday morning on Facebook it would be closed for the day to clean up and assess the damage. In a Tuesday afternoon post, the store posted apparent surveillance video — a “very condensed version of events” — of the incident.
The video, recorded at 5:20 a.m., shows two people in all black with full face masks pull up with a shopping cart. One smashes an opening into the window with a pickax. The two grab card packs off the shelves and put them into duffel bags.
“It’s becoming all too commonplace across [North Carolina] and the rest of the country to see hobby shops go through this,” the store wrote in the post.
Fillingame is being held in Wake County custody on $15,000 bail.
In October 2025, thieves targeted several Triangle trading card shops and stole thousands of dollars worth of Pokémon cards, ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner, reported.
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