Stolen 'Magic: The Gathering' cards worth thousands recovered in sting

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This was a magical mystery and police in Fairfax and Prince William counties solved it with the help of the victim and his friends who share a love for a certain card game.

Prince William County Police spokesperson Jonathan Perok said the victim "reported to us that a backpack, which contained $8,000 worth of Magic: The Gathering cards, were taken from his vehicle."

Tom Haid, the owner of Curio Cavern, a card store in Springfield, knows the victim.

"He was hurt, real hurt by it," said Haid.

Magic: The Gathering is a strategic collectible card game. It is based in the fantasy world. Some cards are worth pennies while others can be worth thousands of dollars.

"Yeah, it is basically a nerd game, but nerds now aren't what nerds were," said Haid.

Especially when the self-described nerds want revenge.

"[The victim] on his own did a little background work and called a couple of places," said Perok.

One of those places was Curio Cavern. Haid hosts tournaments at the store.

As the suspect shopped around the stolen cards, one of the stores got his phone number.

"We called the thief and set up a time for him to come in," said Haid.

On that day, there were police officers out in the parking lot and inside the store. They put a sign on the door that said they would be back in five minutes, so the men could be identified before they even entered the store. That's because police believed he had a history of armed robbery.

Once the suspect was identified, Haid said, "Two undercover squad cars come screaming around the corner. Cops are pointing Tasers at him -- ‘Get down on the ground, put your hands up.' Then we heard dogs barking."

Police arrested 20-year-old Solomon Reed with grand larceny. The missing backpack was in the suspect car.

"I just want people to know that someone who stole Magic cards got caught," said Haid. "It was definitely exhilarating to be a part of it."