MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Witnesses at a strip mall caught the moment a group of thieves made off with over $20,000 worth of stolen items from a City Gear on Lamar Avenue Thursday afternoon.
The video posted on Facebook is about four minutes long. The witnesses, who did not want to be identified, said it took police another five minutes to get there.
In the video, you can see the masked men stuffing armloads of clothing and boxes of shoes into three cars that appeared to be stolen. The robbery was also captured on the store’s surveillance cameras.
“When I tell you they got their whole cars, and they are just filling up as we are speaking,” said one woman to a 911 operator.
The witnesses told police the suspects were filling up a Corvette, Infiniti, and Lexus with their loot and said at least one of the cars had a broken window.
“You might want to come over here. They got these guys at gunpoint,” said one of the witnesses.
It all happened right in front of a SkyCop Camera in the parking lot. The women inside another business in the same strip mall were stunned to see the robbers make so many trips back to the store.
“They got everything out of this store,” said one witness.
“They don’t even care,” said another woman. “They so greedy”.
At least seven people were involved in a brazen theft at the City Gear in the 2900 block of Lamar. Police say the suspects displayed weapons to intimidate employees as they carried clothes and shoes out the door.
Tuesday, investigators said they had made two arrests in the case. Jessie Lobley, 18, and Jamario Franklin, 19, were arrested in unrelated cases Monday.
According to police, both admitted to being involved in the City Gear theft. They were charged with aggravated robbery and burglary.
Lobley is accused of stealing a $61,000 Audi A8 from a business on Elvis Presley Boulevard on Feb. 13 and stealing a Lexus from a business on Summer Avenue on Feb. 9. Witnesses said one of the cars the City Gear thieves were using was a Lexus.
In December, Hibbett, City Gear’s parent company, said the Memphis area stores were burglarized more than 60 times in 2023.
Since then, the company has added some extra security measures, including metal security doors. Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked in front of the Lamar store.
Police have released pictures of the suspects. If you recognize them or have any information about the stolen merchandise, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.