Game store owner grapples with insurance claim after second theft

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – A small business in Northeast Portland’s Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood is trying to recover after being robbed for the second time this year.

But the store’s owner, Miles English, said thefts are inevitable in Portland and he now has to decide whether to file another insurance claim, potentially risking losing coverage.

English’Puddletown Games and PuzzlesThe store, located on Northeast Fremont Street, has been open for three years and its front door has been closed twice due to break-ins. These two violations contribute to more than one thing 6,000 robberies or thefts reported to Portland Police Bureau in the last year.

“We had two burglaries, a little over a year apart, about a few weeks apart, and those were the worst. They are really demoralizing,” English said. “I had trouble sleeping for weeks because you get this call in the middle of the night and you, like everyone else, pick up your phone and look and see it’s the security company. So you know someone is stealing from you or at least vandalizing your space.”

This is exactly the incident recorded on security camera on October 7. It shows someone breaking down the front door with a hammer and then taking a direct shot at the trading cards.

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“You can tell by the way they walk around the store that they’ve been to the store before and they kind of know where the items are. It sucks because I’m really proud of myself (when I own this), I’ll talk to you when you come into my store, we’ll have an interesting conversation. And then knowing that someone did that, I probably talked to them and then they came back and stole from me, it’s like a little overwhelming,” English explained.

English explained that during both burglaries, the suspects went directly towards the building. pokemon And Magic Meeting Cards usually sold second-hand.

“It made me feel really vulnerable, which is a terrible thing. Nobody likes it,” English said.

What contributes to this feeling for English is that he doesn’t know if he will get some of the money back.

“We’re currently at a point where I have to decide whether to file an insurance claim for the second one because we live in a time where if you make too many insurance claims you can be canceled by your insurance provider. And I’m obviously nervous about it because I don’t want to end up with a worse problem, having to pay more insurance I don’t want to stay or have trouble finding the insurance I need to have,” English explained.

As English ponders the decision to either file a lawsuit or pay damages, he said there is a silver lining.

“People who are our fans will come in droves to support us, to check us out, to buy things. Maybe they didn’t need a game today, but they’ll come and that’s a great thing and it helps make me feel like I’m doing the right thing or I’m in the right neighborhood,” English said. .

PPB said that the suspect in the latest theft case could not be identified and the case was suspended due to lack of clues.

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