CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (KRON) -- A couple of thieves did some after-hours shopping at Crush Comics in Castro Valley over the weekend. And, as you might imagine, they left without paying after burglarizing the place and stealing dozens of rare comics.
Just after 3 a.m. Saturday morning, two masked an
d hooded suspects wearing dark clothing hammered their way into the comic store, heading directly to the wall book section and clearing it out.
"They grabbed everything from there, put it in a bag and they were out within, like a minute and a half or so," said co-owner Josh Hunter.
Photo: Crush Comics
Hunter and his wife Andrea co-own the shop after purchasing it eight years ago. He said they have been vandalized before, but this is their first burglary.
"And, I can tell you, like the feeling of vandalism versus burglary is way different," Hunter said.
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The Alameda County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case. Hunter said deputies showed up on scene less than two minutes after the suspects left.
The thieves, he said, got away with about 30 comic books, totaling around $2,000 in losses.Some of them very rare.
"Marvel special edition 15, which is the first official appearance of Shang Chi. We believe we lost Journey into Mystery 85, which is the first appearance of Loki," Hunter said.
The damaged window combined with the loss of books totaling a $5,000 setback for the Hunters. They told KRON4 that the community is coming to their aid by raising money online to help with the recovery and attempting to track the suspects down.
Hunter said a dark vehicle was seen leaving the area around the time of the burglary.
"It's weird for us because we're all fans of comic books. We're fans of superheroes. Like, we read the stories where the good guys catch the bad guys. So, to like, run into bad guys in real life is a little bit strange," Hunter said.
In this case, he hopes the good guys win, and the thieves are caught. ...read more read less
