A group of men belonging to the Gangster Disciples gang have been arrested in connection to the infamous "crash-and-grab" robberies surrounding the city of Chicago.
According to the Chicago Tribune, three men including 18-year-old Hershel Phillips, who served as the group's lookout during the robberies were arrested earlier this month. Police suspect up to eight men are involved in the city's "crash-and-grab" crimes, in which they would drive stolen vehicles into stores and make off with thousands of dollars worth of items. Some of the stores included: Best Buy, Cisco Nyc, pawn shops, and numerous of sneaker stores.
Their final robbery took place at a Niemen Marcus in Oak Hill in December. In the surveillance video above, the group was seen breaking windows of the store after a failed attempt to drive a Dodge Caravan into the store. The group made off with $50,000 worth of items in less than two minutes.
However, their fumbles made it easier for police to track down and identify two of the suspects in the surveillance footage above. After their last robbery, officials say the group reached a total of $2 million dollars worth of stolen luxury items.
Cmdr. Eugene Roy called the crimes "organized and disciplined" since they were devised through clever tactics, particularly by having access to floor plans and blueprints of every store they targeted. "Criminals are criminals," Roy said. "They're looking for a way to make money and they're looking for an easy way to make money. And doing burglaries is a lot easier than standing out on the corner for 12 hours a day selling dope -- and a lot less risky too."
Source: Chicago Tribune | Video Credit: YouTube
