Wild video footage captured the moment a hooded thug plowed a stolen car into an Arizona shoe and streetwear store before making off with looted merchandise during a brazen smash-and-grab early Thursday morning.
Chaotic surveillance video shows the thief ramming the car through the glass doors and metal security gate of Restock Ave in Phoenix, then crashing into a shoe display before bolting from the driver’s side and frantically ripping armfuls of clothes off the rack around 3:15 a.m., multiple outlets reported.
The crook, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, took off on foot through the mangled gate with the stolen goods before returning to the wrecked store moments later for more, the footage showed.
“When I saw this on the camera, I couldn’t believe it,” owner Chris Sotelo told ABC 15, as he and his employees worked together to clean up the shards of broken glass and debris.
“I was just shocked. I didn’t know how to react. It’s a lot of hard work. I started this 10 years ago and got it to where it’s at now. For people to come and destroy it kinda sucks. But it’s part of life, you know, things happen.”
Sotelo told AZ Family that the burglar swiped a few designer items while targeting the “expensive side” of the store, but it’s unclear how much was taken or the total amount of damage his store sustained.
“I’m sure they had been in here before,” the retailer said.
“They kind of had an idea of what we had.”
The scorned business owner noted the daring heist hit just as he was gearing up for the busy back-to-school shopping season.
Police confirmed the vehicle used in the bold break-in was also reported stolen — and the suspect remains on the run, the local outlets reported.
The investigation is ongoing.
