Thieves use SUV to smash into high-end sneaker store in Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thieves used an SUV as a battering ram to break into a high-end sneaker store overnight in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood.

Police said five to six people in an SUV crashed through the front door and security gate of Flee Club near Taylor Street and Oakley Boulevard around 4:30 a.m.

The burglars then stole merchandise from inside the store and got into several waiting cars to flee the scene, leaving the SUV behind.

Flee Club co-owner Darris Kelly said it's not the first break-in at the store. In April 2022, the owners told CBS 2 News they had been hit by burglars five times in the past two years, including twice in a two-week span. They moved to Tri-Taylor three years ago after multiple robberies at their West Side location.

"Just tired of it. I'm just trying to make a living," he said. "I'm really going to have to think if I want to open back up. It's just like, how many times can you get hit?"

In mid-March of 2022, four men made off with $40,000 in shoes after using crowbars to break through the store's burglar bars. Two weeks later, another burglary crew stole $70,000 in merchandise after using crowbars like golf clubs to smash through the windows.

This time, Flee Club's owners estimated it would cost $20,000 just to replace the broken glass at the store, and because of previous break-ins, they are no longer covered by any insurance company. They have yet to determine how much merchandise was stolen, because the building has been deemed a structural risk.

"We need help. Why are we doing it to each other - when you're homegrown like we are?" co-owner Sabrian Sledge said after those two burglaries in 2022. 

"We give out free gifts for Christmas. We give out free turkeys for Thanksgiving," Kelly added at the time. "I guess we haven't done enough, though."

No one was in custody for the latest burglary.

The smash and grab comes a day after a similar burglary in River North, where five to six burglars crashed a pickup truck and a Dodge Charger into a sneaker store and stole merchandise. Police said they got back into the pickup truck and drove off, leaving the Charger behind.

It was not immediately clear if the two burglaries were connected. Area 3 detectives were investigating.