Thieves crash cars into 2 more Chicago storefronts overnight

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Thieves rammed an SUV into the front gate of not two stores early Thursday morning, trying to get inside to steal high-end designer merchandise, the latest in a string of similar burglaries in Chicago.

Five times in the past three days, groups of burglars have used vehicles to smash into high-end stores. Police have not said if the crimes are connected, but they have followed a familiar pattern.

On Tuesday, five or six burglars crashed a Dodge Charger and a pickup truck into a boutique mall in the River North neighborhood, using the truck to getaway after stealing merchandise from Little Black Dress designer clothing and Endless Supply Sneaker Boutique, and leaving the Charger behind.

On Wednesday, five or six thieves in an SUV crashed through the front door and security gate of Flee Club near Taylor Street and Oakley Boulevard. Owners said they don't yet know how much merchandise was stolen, but they expect repairs to the glass will cost $20,000.

Also on Wednesday, a group of five or six people got out of an SUV at the Louis Vuitton store on the Magnificent Mile, and tried to break through the front glass door, but couldn't get inside. They ran off, leaving the SUV behind.

On Thursday morning, around 4:15 a.m., police responded to a crash in the 1100 block of North Ashland Avenue, and found a black Jeep had jumped the curb and crashed into the front of Boneyard Chicago, a shoe and streetwear store.

The owner, Jacob, who didn't want to use his last name, said he's seen this happening at other stores, so they hired an overnight security guard. Surveillance video shows the burglars pull up behind the security guard's SUV in a sedan and a second black SUV. People from the sedan walk up alongside the security guard's SUV, and Jacob said they implied they had guns and told him to leave.

After the guard left, they moved the sedan back, making way for the SUV to ram into the fortified entrance, which buckled but didn't budge. 

Jacob said they've been told by city leaders there is a limit to what they can install outside the building to protect their store.

"At least allow us to protect ourselves by putting these barricades in front of the store. Let us take the measures. If you don't want to do anything, fine, we're on our own, but let us do what we have to do. Don't get in our way of protecting our store," he said.

Jacob said it was the second time thieves have tried to ram a car through their entrance. They also failed to get inside last time. He installed new metal protective gates on the storefront about three months ago, and estimated repairs from this morning's attempt would cost $40,000 – more than thieves might have taken in stolen merchandise if they had made it inside.

Less than twenty minutes after the attempted break-in at Boneyard, police responded to the 1800 block of South State Street, where a white Jeep SUV crashed into the security gate of Unique Chicago sneaker boutique. After stealing merchandise from the store, the burglars got into several waiting vehicles and fled the scene, leaving the SUV behind.

No one was in custody in any of the burglaries on Thursday.

Area 3 detectives were investigating all five crimes.