Caught On Camera: Thieves Smash Their Way Into Beverly Hills Boutique
BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA) — Men in four vehicles staged a "brazen" burglary at a Rodeo Drive boutique early Tuesday, and police have released surveillance video of them in the act.
Officers responded about 3:50 a.m. to a report of a commercial burglary in progress in the 400 block of North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills police Lt. Elisabeth Albanese said.
The men tried to smash their way into a St. Laurent shop but failed and instead broke into the Zadig et Voltaire boutique next door, police said.
Danielle and Alex Pierce are visiting from Atlanta, where burglaries like this are common, they said.
"They probably done it before," Alex Pierce said. "They planned it. They knew what they were looking for."
Police said the band of thieves was in and out in about 90 seconds.
Surveillance video shows about 10 men removing merchandise and loading it into vehicles before fleeing south on Rodeo Drive, Albanese said.
Some vacationers say this brazen crime has shattered their image of Rodeo Drive.
"I probably wouldn't want to be out here when it starts to get darker or early in the morning, I guess," Brandon King said.
Police got to the scene and found one of the suspects' cars.
That led to short car chase but a handful of people ditched the car and got away on foot.
The suspects' cars are believed to be a gray or silver two-door BMW, a black four-door Hyundai that is in police custody after a chase, a gray or silver BMW X-5 SUV and a four-door Honda Civic. All of them had paper plates.
Alex Pierce believes the crooks travel in a group for a reason.
"Lot less opportunity for someone to play the hero or anything like that, obviously," he said. "You're not going to step in front of five or six people robbing a place as opposed to one person."
Anyone with information about the burglary was urged to call Beverly Hills police at (310) 285-2158. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
(©2018 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS News Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
