Criminals stole roughly $4,100 in Nike apparel from multiple sporting goods stores in Kansas over the weekend as thieves also struck in California, Illinois and Rhode Island.
The Riley Co. Police Department (RCPD) in Manhattan, Kans. said Dick’s Sporting Goods employees told responding officers that an unknown man and woman stole around $2,400 worth of Nike clothing from the store.
RCPD said officers were called to Academy Sports + Outdoors 90 minutes later in response to another theft. Employees reported that the same suspects stole around $1,700 worth of Nike clothing.
The RCPD is currently investigating the connected thefts and the suspects remain at large.
Nike goods have been a magnet for shoplifters, with one such theft occurring at trailers located near the brand’s Memphis, Tenn. distribution center in September. An estimated $800,000 in Nike products were stolen in the heist. StockX took notice, temporarily pausing sales of yet-to-be-released Air Jordan sneakers it felt might be connected to the Memphis theft.
Another Dick’s Sporting Goods was targeted on Thursday in Modesto, Calif. Detectives with the Modesto Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit arrested an organized retail theft group after they were caught exiting the retailer without paying for merchandise in their possession.
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This same group is believed to be responsible for prior thefts at Dick’s Sporting Goods and TJ Maxx.
Dick’s Sporting Goods didn’t immediately responded to a request for comment.
Twenty-four-year-old Patrice Williams and 31-year-old Tanisha Armstrong, both of Stockton, Calif., and 23-year-old Keara Denegal of Modesto were arrested and charged with conspiracy, second degree burglary, grand theft, theft of personal property, and organized retail theft. All three suspects received a $250,000 bail enhancement.
Rhode Island sneaker store robbed less than year after opening
In Cranston, R.I., six masked men stole ‘thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise from sneaker boutique The Sneaker Spot in a “smash-and-grab” hit.
Co-owners Steven Rocchio and Joe Michael got a call early Wednesday morning that the store’s alarm was going off, according to a report from local Providence, R.I. news affiliate WJAR-TV. By the time they arrived, they found the door smashed and select merchandise gone from the store which opened in December.
The Sneaker Spot shared the surveillance camera footage of the six suspects taking shoes off the shelves and grabbing multiple shoeboxes from the store’s back office.
“We are currently working alongside the Cranston Police to gain any sort of evidence related to the break in,” the company said on an Instagram post. “Unfortunately, numerous shoes, clothing pieces and other accessories were stolen from us at the time… we are working to put together a list of the items missing from our inventory, and please be on the lookout for any suspicious items for sale… please stay safe out there, we appreciate all of your continuous love and support. Thank you.”
The Cranston Police Department is still searching for the suspects who left the scene driving a U-Haul van.
Some of the stolen items were recovered and given back to the store.
“We haven’t yet gone through everything and been able to tell if we have everything, if anything has been damaged, or if we are missing anything,” Rocchio told the outlet.
And in Oswego, two women were arrested for allegedly stealing $497 of merchandise from a Burlington Coat Factory store. Tanaysha M. McDaniel and Kenijha C. Fletcher, both of Peoria, Ill., are charged with felony retail theft.
More retail crime has been reported out of Columbus, Ohio stemming from late summer.
The Columbus Police Department (CPD) released an information report Saturday about an outstanding case, saying they are also looking to identify suspects in a retail theft reported on Aug. 25 at an unidentified retail store in the city’s Easton Market.
Columbus police said two Black women entered the store just before 3 p.m. Police said the women were carrying large bags and filled them were merchandise before leaving the store without paying for the items.
The incident occurred after a similar event in the same complex, in which two Black female suspects stole an estimated $380 in merchandise from an Old Navy over a span of three trips. Each trip, the suspects entered the store and filled up tote bags with merchandise. Like the other instance, the suspects left without paying.
Police haven’t made a connection between the Aug. 25 robbery and the Old Navy thefts.