Exclusive: NJ business victim of similar 'crash and grab' robbery as Queens sneaker store
PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) -- On Thursday, Eyewitness News showed you a 'Crash and Grab' at a sneaker store in Queens where thieves broke the storefront with a BMW and ran out with merchandise.
News of this break-in was triggering for Davis Diaz because his store, 'Kicktronics' in Paterson, New Jersey, was also burglarized.
"I saw it and was like 'wow, I can't believe this is really happening to small business sneaker owners,' - you get me? Like that really triggered me," Diaz said.
An SUV pulled up to Diaz's store with the same dent in the bumper. In his store, the thieves broke in using rocks, shattering the window.
"Hoodies can go up to $1,000 on the resale market, and we had not 10, not 20 not 30 - but hundreds in the glass case alone that were taken," Diaz added.
They were taken and thrown into the back of the SUV.
Within just five days, at least four high-end sneaker and clothing stores were burglarized, spanning New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Just three days after the Paterson heist on January 11, cinderblocks were through the window of the Connect Clothing Store in Montclair. $45,000 worth of merchandise was stolen.
In the 'crash and grab' on Long Island on January 15, two suspects were arrested. One of them was Christopher Flores, 19, who back in April was charged with leading police on a wild chase in a stolen Lamborghini.
Diaz wants to see more arrests.
The level of damage is something the manager of Kicktronics says he has never seen in nearly two decades of business. The store, he says, was targeted six times within the past year.
Watch our series 'Eyewitness to Gilgo Beach' launching Friday, January 19 wherever you stream ABC 7 New York
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