HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A Henrico business owner said he is frustrated after his antique store was broken into on Friday night. John Wells Jr. said he feels his shop, located off Broad Street in the Merchant's Walk Shopping Center, was targeted.
"They're cowards, they're thieves, they're criminals," Wells said.
On Friday night, Wells found the back door of his shop was breached and at least one thief, who was captured on video, stole collector cards, sports memorabilia and money that had been set aside for a pet adoption program.
"Part of my store name is Claire's, and Claire is my dog that I rescued from the SPCA six years ago, so animal rescue and animal adoption is very important to me. It's part of our namesake," Wells said.
From what he has counted so far, over $1,000 in cash and about $20,000 in merchandise were stolen.
"I'm a hard-working, small business owner. I'm not like big stores, like Walmart and Target. I don't have all this money sitting around for inventory. This is how I feed my family, how I pay my employees and how I pay my rent. For someone to walk in and take my inventory, he's despicable and a coward," Wells said.
Wells also believed the thief didn't do this alone and he also thinks he has done it before. Exclusive items like brand-new rare Pokemon Cards and cleats signed by Michael Vick are a few of the exclusive items missing.
Wells is offering a $1,000 cash reward for any information about the suspect.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
