Community Corner
Air Yeezy 2 Sneakers Stolen at Gunpoint
Police are hunting for two people who reportedly stole two pairs of Kanye West-designed Nike Air Yeezy 2 sneakers from a Redondo Beach resident.
A North Redondo Beach resident found himself without two pairs of pricey, special-edition sneakers designed by Kanye West after robbers stole them at gunpoint, according to the .
The victim had just returned home Saturday night from the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City with two new pairs of Nike Air Yeezy 2 sneakers when a silver BMW pulled up and parked next to his car, police said in a news release. A person got out of the BMW, grabbed the victim from behind and held a gun to his cheek, demanding his shoes.
A man traveling with the victim tried to run from the car toward a nearby house, but a second person got out of the silver BMW and put him in a headlock until the first person grabbed the shoes, police said. The two robbers then released the victims and fled, police said.
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Police have not determined whether the perpetrators followed the victims home from the mall, said Sgt. Shawn Freeman. If the victims were followed, "I can't recall a time … [when] suspects went to this great length to steal shoes."
The shoes weren't ordinary sneakers. A pair of the Nike Air Yeezy 2, designed by hip-hop artist Kanye West and released Saturday, retails for $245; however, at least one pre-ordered pair sold on eBay for more than $90,300, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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The Air Yeezy 2 sneakers are a limited-edition run of 3,000-5,000, the Times reported. Based on current eBay prices, the stolen shoes could be worth more than $2,000 per pair, if resold.
"We are actively investigating" the theft, Freeman said.
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