Sneaker thieves strike again as yet another robbery took place at one of Nike‘s Memphis facilities, making this the second time in two weeks that the grounds have been ransacked. Nike’s Memphis facilities have been a consistent target for sneaker thieves as $400,000 worth of Nike merchandise was stolen from the North Memphis facility just last month.
The latest robbery in North Memphis saw thieves escape with $200K worth of Nike products from the employee store, while only a week prior, Nike’s South Memphis rail yard experienced a break-in, per Fox 13 Memphis.
According to the Memphis police, thieves broke into the Nike employee store at around 4 a.m. and fled with about $200K in merchandise on September 7.
At the time of the robbery, a security guard was on break when she heard a “loud boom” and saw a man open a storage trailer door behind the store. She then called her supervisor and police responded. When officers arrived, they saw five cars and a pickup truck speeding away from the store.
At this time, suspects from the North Memphis robbery have not been identified, but on August 30, five men were arrested following the South Memphis incident, per WREG.
The investigation began when one of the suspects cut a hole in a fence to gain access to a rail yard, where they targeted boxcars. A security guard on duty at the time had noticed suspicious activity and discovered a boxcar filled with various pried-open Jordan Brand sneakers. When officers arrived at the scene, they found two cellphones left behind by the suspects.
Memphis law enforcement utilized spike strips to apprehend the suspects on New Horn Lake Road and Rivergate Road in South Memphis.
The suspects, identified as Travis Mull, Damien Boone, Darrius Lloyd, Jacquez West, and Larry Lawrence, were involved in the theft. Mull, Boone, and Lloyd were in a box truck that stopped before reaching the spike strips, leading to their immediate arrest.
The remaining suspects, West and Lawrence, were driving a Nissan Altima and ran over the spike strips, coming to a halt on a curb. The suspects fled from the car and led officers on a foot chase before being located and taken into custody with the assistance of K9 units and air support.
Considering previous Memphis heists have bagged as much as $800,000 worth of Nike goods, the latest South Memphis robbery seems to be a failed operation as the police only recovered 12 Nike sweatshirts and a firearm from the men taken into custody.
At this time, Nike has not commented on the reoccurring robberies at their Memphis facilities.
Over the past year, there has been a noticeable uptick in sneaker-related crime, with a recent report revealing that organized crime is responsible for stolen sneakers at every point in the supply chain. While Memphis has been a hotspot for such incidents, one of the largest stings in sneaker history was uncovered earlier this year when the Los Angeles Police Department found $7 million worth of stolen Nike sneakers.
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