Police Searching For Two People Who Stole Millions In Merchandise From Gold Coast Rolls Royce Dealership
CHICAGO (CBS) – Police are searching for two people who robbed a Rolls Royce Dealership Saturday afternoon in the Gold Coast neighborhood, but it wasn't the vehicles they were after.
Police said around 12:11 p.m., the two offenders entered the business on the 800 block of North Rush, near the Magnificent Mile.
Video shows a man in a grey hoodie remain by the entrance while the other, in a black hoodie, went towards a jewelry display case and used a hammer to break the glass. Then the man in grey pulled out what appeared to be a gun from his sweatshirt pocket. The burglar then pulled out a bag, workers said, to put in several expensive watches.
What can't be seen on video is salemen running after the two with their own guns drawn..
"Absolutely. You can't take something that's not yours," said salesman Mike Ibraimi
They got away, grabbing $2 million in merchandise, according to the business owner.
Owners also said there were families inside the store. Salesmen talked about shielding them from the mayhem.
"You take people and you try to hide them. Because you don't know what these two are going to do," said Kane Stiles.
Both men fled the scene in an unknown sedan.
The dealership owner is furious.
"A city that I love and everybody loves to come to is going to be a desert if they don't stop this. We're going to have people moving out of this city -- they're moving out now -- that want to just be safe," said owner Joe Perillo. "They're walking into my business, crashing the windows. And one guy stands with a gun. And we have to have this happen. Enough is enough."
He wants more action from Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the state's attorney's office.
This comes after a string of burglaries in the high end retail area near the Magnificent Mile. CBS 2 has reported before about how experts say this is scaring away business.
Perillo wants it to stop and thinks that starts within Chicago. He said Cook County prosecutors and city leadership need to hold criminals accountable.
"It's only a fool who keeps doing things the same way and expects different results. If the Mayor and Kim Foxx don't do anything to get control of this, it's not going to get better. It's going ot get worse," he said.
Experts have told CBS 2 that burglaries like this could affect tourism and make people hesitant to come downtown.
It is the last thing Perillo wants in the city he loves and calls home.
"But right now it's turning into PalookaVille," he said.