Longtime Sacramento comic book store burglarized twice in a week. ‘I felt pretty numb’

Dave Downey, the owner of a longtime Sacramento comic book and toy shop, said he tried to focus on patching up his store after a burglar smashed glass and stole collectibles earlier this week.

But the owner of World’s Best Comics & Toys in Arden Arcade is grappling with a second burglary after he said the same suspect broke into his shop again on Thursday and stole the same items taken during the first incident: “Yu-Gi-Oh!” trading cards and “Transformers” toys.

“I felt pretty numb that it could happen so quickly,” Downey said in a phone interview about Thursday’s incident. The first burglary at his store at 2608 Watt Ave. happened Sunday, he said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the burglaries, said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

Downey said the suspect appeared to have targeted “Transformer’s” toys and “Yu-Gi-Oh!” cards, leaving behind other valuable items.

Both are coveted items highly sought by collectors — and some of them may not be possible to restock after they are gone, Downey said.

He added preliminary estimates suggest the store has suffered losses of about $6,000 through both incidents.

Then there’s the losses felt in addition to the lost items: cleaning up broken glass, filing insurance claims, fixing doors and heightening security measures, he said.

“Drilling holes into 65 year old concrete is NOT fun and I don’t recommend it,” Downey wrote on social media of creating a metal gate around his shop.

The suspect, caught on camera, appears to have left his fingerprint and palm prints behind on the glass, Downey said. Crime scene technicians recovered blood on the glass after the suspect cut himself breaking into the store, he said.

The owner of the shop since 1999 said he’s taking it all in stride.

“I probably have the best customers in the world,” Downey said. “It’s really been impactful and emotional to hear everyone’s support.”