Merrimack Comic Store Owner Offers Reward After 'Magic' Burglary

MERRIMACK – Anyone who has ever been in a comic book store during a game of "Magic: The Gathering" knows what a passionate, dedicated community the players are.

Those players – as well as other faithful customers of Merrymac Games and Comics – have turned that passion and support toward the store and its owners after the Daniel Webster Highway shop was burglarized late Sunday night. Bob Shaw, father of co-owner Daniel Harper, said he arrived at the store around midnight to find broken glass and valuable "Magic: The Gathering" cards stolen from a smashed display case.

"Magic: The Gathering" is a multi-player fantasy game played using trading cards from a deck or personal collection. Some of those cards considered rare, which can be valued at $1,000 or more, are ones Shaw said were the focus of the break-in.

“Everyone is doing OK. We’re open. The glass case has been repaired, said Shaw, who opened the store Tuesday morning. "We’re just hurt that someone in the community targeted us."

Shaw said the past few days have been a whirlwind, with television crews and other news outlets reporting on the crime and loyal customers checking on the store and its owners.

“It’s been amazing," he said. "We’ve had people coming in here when we’re not even here dropping off food and other items anonymously to help. I am not too masculine to say that it’s brought tears to my eyes. People are inherently good.”

Shaw said Merrimack Police have stopped by a few times to visit in the past two days and that officers “seem encouraged that they are on the path” to solving the case. Security cameras caught an image of the burglar that has been widely circulated in news reports and on social media.

“I wouldn’t want to be someone who has had their face on that many TV stations and all around Facebook. That must be an uncomfortable position to be in,” Shaw said.

Shaw said the burglar appeared to know what the most expensive items in the store were, where they were located, and went directly for the "Magic: The Gathering" cards. Owners Christopher Lepkowski – a Marine veteran – and Harper have offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, with another $500 to be donated the charity of choice for the person supplying the information.

“Chris has done a lot working with the community building up good faith," Shaw said. "We do a lot of charity work and thought the $500 would send a message that we want to push that this is a community. That way something decent comes out of this and we can take a positive out of a negative."

Shaw added that small businesses and their customers come together in times of difficulty like this.

“Support your local game store. Keep playing games. The best thing to do is to show something like this doesn’t affect us, and that the community is strong,” he said.

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