LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A family owned tennis and pickleball store in the Southwest Valley is the latest target of thieves.
The crime was caught on camera last Friday during store business hours in broad daylight.
Game Set Match is based in Colorado with three locations there and one location on Fort Apache near Tropicana in Las Vegas. But in the last two months, all four of their stores were served a wicked surprise.
“We hit our 35th year in business and never had anything like this,” said store owner Adam Burbary.
General Manager of the Las Vegas store Conrad Corona was working at the time the theft happened. He describes a group of people walking in; one man, two women and a child.
“They looked around a little bit toward the pickleball section,” said Corona. “But the male distracted me and the two females saw an opportunity to steal and they did.”
Corona said the group took 16 pickleball paddles worth about $5000 in the blink of an eye.
Burbary said the incident is eerily similar to the thefts in Colorado last February.
“I was a little put off,” said Burbary. “So our new rule is, whoever comes in, I don’t care who it is, we’re going to service them and stick with them.”
The thefts were all caught on camera in the Colorado locations. You can see a group of people, which include females wearing long, covered clothing.
Our Scripps station in Denver, Denver7 covered the story.
Burbary said thieves stole more than $30,000 worth of pickle ball paddles at his Colorado stores. This recent hit in Las Vegas leaves him with a double hit.
“Last year, my premiums went up 47% with no claims,” said Burbary. “If I claimed it, I’d get canceled and then I wouldn’t have coverage for my four locations. So I’m at a catch 22.”
Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, one of the agencies investigating the crime in Colorado, told Channel 13 there is a possibility the string of thieves are tied to a larger, multi-state organized scheme.
The Sheriff’s Office also said the descriptions of the suspects in Las Vegas and their tactics are similar to the Colorado thefts.
Conrad filed a police report with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Anyone with information about the theft in Las Vegas can call Metro.
