In a heist that sounds like it came straight out of a Mission Impossible movie, masked thieves managed to break into a Florida mall by cutting a hole in the concrete roof. The robbers then made off with hundreds of pairs of Nike and New Balance sneakers, valued at $40,000 to $50,000, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, which reported this week.
The Robbery: A Movie-Style Heist
The theft took place in the early hours of Tuesday at the Champs Sporting Goods store inside Treasure Coast Mall in Jensen Beach, Florida. Authorities say the criminals gained access to the back storage room between midnight and 8 a.m. They then bagged up their haul of shoes, threw the bags off the roof, and loaded them into a getaway vehicle. The sheriff’s office shared on social media that some of the merchandise was hastily left behind, likely due to the rush of the operation.
“Not quite the Crown Jewels — but it’s clear these sneaker thieves put the same time and effort into their crime,” the Sheriff’s Office quipped in a post.
The cost of the stolen shoes is estimated to be between $40,000 and $50,000, with an additional $10,000 needed to repair the hole in the roof, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
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A Criminal Mastermind at Work?
Sheriff John Budensiek compared the robbery to a scene from a Hollywood thriller during a press conference on Wednesday. “We had a burglary that we discovered yesterday that appears to be right out of Mission Impossible,” said Budensiek. The sheriff also drew comparisons to the recent high-profile jewelry heist at the Louvre, adding, “I watched the national news — saw what happened across the pond where they stole the crown jewels, and this is a one-off of that.”
Budensiek suspects that the robbers were organized, possibly a group of traveling criminals. “These are organized criminals that are probably traveling criminals,” he stated. “They didn’t do that with a handsaw. They used electric tools — probably a grinder or saw — and somehow worked for hours without being detected.”
Investigation Ongoing
The crime is still under investigation, with law enforcement authorities trying to track down the thieves who pulled off this high-tech burglary. Anyone with information about the robbery is encouraged to contact the Martin County Sheriff’s Office at 772-220-7060.
