Macy’s heist: Police released photos of three masked men.
Three masked men in a stolen Mercedes snatched $16,000 in Movado watches from a Northeast Philadelphia Macy’s store last Thursday, two days after the same car was involved in the burglary of a high-end department store in Center City, authorities say.
Police are still looking for the silver luxury sedan with Pennsylvania tag HVA-3241 and as many as eight culprits who were involved in either smash-and-grab.
The Macy’s heist occurred just before 2:30 p.m. at 2399 Cottman Ave. when three unidentified masked men approached a watch sales display. One of the crooks used a hammer to smash a glass enclosure. Then all three bandits grabbed watches from the case and put them into trash bags. As the men fled the store, one of the thieves dropped his trash bag and left it behind. Nonetheless, the group made off with 14 Movados valued at $16,530, police said.
The getaway car was a silver 2012 Mercedes S350 that had been stolen outside the city on Oct. 8. It’s a four-door model with a black roof. It was last seen traveling from the store southbound on Roosevelt Boulevard.
One crook wore a black and gray hoodie, sweatpants and black Nike sneakers. Another wore a red and black hoodie with black pants. The third wore a gray hoodie, black pants and gray sneakers. All three wore ski masks, police said.
Detectives used surveillance video from Macy’s to link the car to one used in the burglary of Boyds Philadelphia at 1818 Chestnut St. on Oct. 25. At about 4 a.m., a group of unknown men arrived outside the store in a 2016 Toyota Rav4. The driver used the vehicle to ram the store’s front window, shattering the glass.
The Mercedes arrived soon after carrying several other men. In all, as many as eight conspirators — all dressed in ski masks, black or gray hoodies and gloves — entered the store and stole several thousand dollars worth of clothing and accessories from the display racks. They fled before police arrived.
Police recovered the Toyota at an undisclosed location. It was dark red and had been stolen on Oct. 18 inside the city.
Visit the Philadelphia Police channel on YouTube.com to view surveillance video of the crimes. Call 215–686-TIPS or text to PPD TIP to report information. ••
