$100,000 worth of sports memorabilia stolen from Hopkins store

Hopkins Police are investigating a burglary that resulted in the theft of more than $100,000 worth of memorabilia.

The owners of Ultimate Collectibles say among the items stolen were one-of-a-kind and vintage baseball cards and unique sports memorabilia.

“Acquiring all these over the last 20 years was difficult,” said store employee and collector Warren Lightbody. “To replace them...we can’t. It would either be too expensive or they’re not available anymore.”

Among the more expensive items taken was an original portrait of Harmon Killebrew from the Killebrew estate, listed at $1,200.

“We’ve got boxes and boxes of vintage cards from the '40s, '50s and '60s, so those single cards alone are $20 to $300 a card,” said Lightbody who stood in front of empty display cases in the back of the store.

While the store does have a security system in place, police say the burglar disabled the surveillance cameras and took off with the modem that holds the video recordings.

“We are assuming that somebody had been through the store and knew which cases to go through first,” said Lightbody.

Hopkins Police say the burglary occurred sometime between Monday, April 10, and Tuesday morning.

“Looking at it on the surface, you would think it’s someone who knew, yeah there’s some value to it, but I’ve also been around long enough to know there are crimes of opportunity where they walked in and didn’t know the value of what they’re holding onto,” said Hopkins Police Sergeant Michael Glassberg.

Ultimate Collectibles has compiled an entire list of stolen items on its Facebook page, and the owner has worked feverishly to contact pawn shops and buyers across the Midwest asking them to be on the lookout.

If you think you see one of the missing items listed for sale online, or if you may have information about the items whereabouts, you are asked to call Hopkins Police at (952) 258-5321.