Thieves smash displays, steal watches at Mag Mile store for 2nd time
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Police are looking for a trio of thieves who stole watches from a Magnificent Mile shop after using a mallet to smash open display cases Friday morning. It's the second time they have struck in the past month.
PHOTOS: Mallet-wielding watch thieves strike Mag Mile store
"The thought of somebody thinking about going in and doing that, that would never cross my mind," said Nicholle Hughes, a Mag Mile shopper.
Police were called at 11:43 a.m. for a report of three males entering the Tourneau store on the third floor of the Water Tower Place in the 800 block of North Michigan. The suspects used a mallet to break display cases and stole expensive wristwatches, according to police.
To escape, it appears they traveled three sets of escalators down two floors.
"This is an iconic Chicago place, and these guys make it from the third floor all the way down here. Smash and grab. It's crazy," said Josh Hana, another Mag Mile shopper.
"There's a lot of people on the escalators, and there's so many escalators. Like how do you... I don't know if you jump down the escalators?" Hughes wondered.
Adding to the intrigue, this isn't the first time it's happened. Three weeks ago a similar smash-and-grab occurred at the same Tourneau store.
The same people are suspected in the earlier robbery, police said. In that incident, they drove away in a gold Jeep Cherokee.
Each of the male suspects was between 17 and 25 years old and between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot, police said.
Police said two of them were wearing Nike hoodies - one gray and another black - while the photos show the third suspect wearing a red hoodie with an "Azusa Pacific University" logo on it. They were all wearing Nike hoodies, one of them red, another gray and the third black, police said.
No arrests have been made and no injuries were reported in connection with the incidents.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area Central detectives at (312) 747-8384.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
