
Ultra-rare Gretzky hockey card leads RCMP to arrest hobby shop thief: store owner
CTV
An Edmonton man has been arrested after he tried to sell a limited-edition Wayne Gretzky hockey card roughly 40 kilometers away from where it was stolen, the card's owner says.
An Edmonton man has been arrested after he tried to sell a limited-edition Wayne Gretzky hockey card roughly 40 kilometers away from where it was stolen, the card's owner says.
The Gretzky collectible, worth about $2,200, was among thousands of dollars worth of goods taken during a break-and-enter at the The Hobby Spot in Leduc on Feb. 4.
"It's very hard to move pieces like this," shop owner Luke Crisby explained.
"It should deter thieves from all over North America from hitting hobby shops, along with the fact that we do document all the serial numbers on our cases and we video all of the cards in our display cases."
The card is an "autographed pro-gear booklet" that is numbered 12/12, Crisby said. He initially estimated $75,000 worth of cards were taken. RCMP pegged the stolen goods at $55,000.
The Gretzky card raised eyebrows when a man brought it into Froggers House of Cards and Autograph Gallery in west Edmonton, an employee there told CTV News Edmonton.
"When I saw the card, I was like, 'Oh, where'd you get this from?' And he had no idea about the card. He had no information on it," said Konnor Kelly-Flett.