Crash And Grab Burglars Raid Lansing Store In Pre-Dawn Heist
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An SUV plowed through the front of a store in south suburban Lansing early Monday, and a group of thieves inside made off with thousands of dollars' worth of designer jeans.
Around 3:45 a.m., an SUV rammed through the front of Tops & Bottoms, at 16711 Torrence Av. While the theft took only minutes to carry out, the crooks clearly had been planning the heist for a while.
Store owners said the five young men in the SUV immediately went for the most expensive merchandise inside.
"The retail is about, between $150 to $200 to $250 to $425 jeans," owner Anis Kassim said. "They just knew which ones they wanted. They took them all."
In minutes, the five thieves stuffed several large garbage bags with designer jeans, then ran out the door, and climbed into a waiting getaway van.
Kassim said the store has been open about a month, and thieves have been trying to get inside almost the entire time.
"Twice they came in here, and police got here, we got here at the same time. They ran through the back door," he said.
Inside the vacant business next door, the wall has been patched up after thieves tried to cut their way into Tops and Bottoms.
"While they were cutting with their saw – the brick wall back there – and we got here on time, and then they ran off from the back door," Kassim said.
When that didn't work, they plowed right through the front door.
"A $400 pair of jeans, 70 pairs is like $28,000 just right there; and, plus, the major loss is the construction," he said.
Kassim said he fears the thieves will head out of Illinois to try to sell the stolen goods. That's why he wants the public's help identifying them so they can be brought to justice as soon as possible.
No one was in custody as of Monday morning.