Red Castle Games burglarized twice more, in just two days

HELP ID AND BUST THE CROOKS IN THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEOS | Take a look, and see if you can help officials track down thieves who are stealing from this local business …

Located in the heart of the Foster Road Business District, Red Castle Games has become a gathering place for both gamers and neighbors.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Early on Tuesday morning, February 11, and again on Thursday morning, February 13, the Red Castle Games store in the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood was again burglarized.

Founder and owner Matthew B. Mičetić hardened security at the store after burglaries on June 7 and August 6 – twice on that night! – in 2023. Then, during the most recent Holiday Season, a break-in burglar entered the store early on December 7.

Take a look at the video surveillance files we edited together and help the police bust these criminals:

Then, early on Tuesday morning, February 11, and again on Thursday morning, February 13, thieves once more broke into the store.

At the location of the most recent break-ins, Red Castle Games owner Matthew B. Mičetić shows the damage caused by criminals who used power tools to enter a security door.

“Of the ten burglaries we’ve experienced, three have been through the back door, two of them being in the last week,” a clearly frustrated Mičetić quietly told East Portland News not long after the latest crimes.

“Other criminals have broken in through the front door, the café door, and seven times through broken windows,” Mičetić continued.

Here’s a look at the distinctive hat and part of the face of the burglar that broke in on February 11 as he looks for Pokémon merchandise to steal. Red Castle Games image

Criminals steal easy-to-sell merchandise
“A lot of what the burglars have stolen – game card sets – is relatively easy to sell because it’s untraceable, relatively small, it’s very easy to sell online because there is a robust market for it,” explained Mičetić.

On February 11, before 6:00 a.m., the thief went for Pokémon merchandise. “He grabbed whatever he saw with ‘Pokémon’ on it – some of it was relatively valuable; but some of it was akin to Pokémon toilet paper! The total retail loss was about $5,000,” Mičetić sighed.

These two criminals were pilfering collector sets of ‘Magic: The Gathering’ in their February 13 heist.

“But on February 13, the criminals who broke in about 5:30 a.m. had a clear plan: They took all the high-dollar items – ‘Magic: The Gathering’ collector sets. So that loss is between $45,000 and $55,000 – a huge magnitude of difference,” said Mičetić.

Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications logs don’t show that Portland Police Bureau officers were dispatched to the store during either event, even though the business has a monitored alarm service.

Wearing gloved hands, burglars grab as many card sets as they can, before stuffing them into a pillowcase and taking off. Red Castle Games image

Mičetić said that police do have the security system video recordings, and have assigned incident numbers to the latest crimes.

“It’s really hard on us, because we’re more than a retail store; over the past 15 years we’ve made this a real ‘community space’,” reflected Mičetić. “In addition to being a ‘second home’ for Portland’s gaming community, we have a lot of people come into visit our café — perhaps having a meeting of some kind, and enjoying being in a well-lit, clean, friendly, safe place.”

More than being just a retail store, this business also provides a place for community members to gather.

While the business is insured, he’s decided to absorb the loss from the first break-in for fear of having his coverage dropped. But, he’ll file a claim for the second burglary because of the significant size of the loss.

To help raise money to further harden the security at his store, Mičetić has started this GoFundMe account.

Or, you can support this local business by stopping in at Red Castle Games, 7160 SE Foster Road, 97206.

And, if you have information that can help bring these criminals to justice, email it to crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov, and add that your information concerns Cases No. 25-36186 and/or 25-37901.

Comments are closed.