Finally Official Details on Kaleidoscope Theft
June 6, 2008 | 1:11 pmSeems like all of our leads and details were right on the money. Nice job Carl and everyone else that contributed pieces to this story.
Here’s the full story from the AJC…
The rash of “blue jean bandit” thefts in Atlanta has apparently spread to Decatur, where a clothing store was struck by thieves within an hour of a similar robbery in Buckhead.
Kaleidoscope, a clothing store on West Ponce de Leon in downtown Decatur, was robbed Wednesday afternoon, Decatur police Capt. David Hipple said. A group of young males pepper-sprayed employees before fleeing with high-end blue jeans and other apparel.
The same thing happened about an hour earlier, shortly before 4 p.m., at Brazil Fine Italian Menswear on Peachtree Road near Piedmont Hospital, Atlanta police spokesman Eric Schwartz said.
Two men came into the store and stayed about 10 minutes before leaving, only to return with about five or six other men. A female employee was pepper-sprayed and punched in the face by the suspects.
Police suspect the incidents are related. The suspects in the Decatur robbery fled the scene in a stolen gold minivan police say they think was used in the earlier Atlanta theft.
Atlanta and Decatur police plan to hold a joint news conference later this afternoon in Atlanta to discuss the incidents, Hipple said.
Police for months have been looking for a band of thieves who have been preying on high-end boutiques. Until now, the blue jean bandits have struck late at night, breaking glass windows and doors to gain entry.
Hipple said video footage taken from surveillance cameras at the Decatur boutique shows the suspects’ faces. Decatur police chased the minivan after the incident but lost the vehicle in Atlanta, he said. [A comment in the previous post said the chase took place on DeKalb Ave and was halted after the van hit three cars]
The daylight robberies are brazen, Hipple said.
“It happens quick, and I guess that’s their advantage,” he said.
So no one has EVER been arrested in connection with these “blue jean” robberies? It seems like a crime ring.
Also, if these are the “blue jean bandits” known for their quick in-and-out, its pretty impressive that the Decatur PD was able to catch up with them. I’ve yet to hear about another jean robbery where police pursued suspects. I would like to know more detail about how they were alerted.
h/t: InDecatur
Yep, it was a gold minivan that I saw in the high speed chase, westbound on Dekalb Ave at Rocky Ford. The police car was only a couple seconds behind the minivan. Two more Decatur PD cars came through the intersection in the next minute or so.
At that time of day, at that location, the reversible lane is closed in that direction and traffic has to merge. When I looked back to see the chase there were cars all over the place in what looked like near collisions. I can see why the police backed off the pursuit, it was madness.
Scary. If I hadn’t taken MARTA to work on Wednesday that would have been about the time I would have been traveling home on DeKalb Ave. too!
Glad everyone is OK.
I was driving one of the three cars they hit on Dekalb Avenue. I was driving in the reversible lane when I saw the minivan headed toward me in that lane. I assumed they were confused, or trying to cut traffic or something, so I started to turn towards the outside lane.
That’s when I realized they were coming much faster than I thought, and also when I saw the police cars in pursuit.
I saw four african american men. The driver and the guy in the passenger seat were maybe in their early twenties. I saw two others watching in between the front seats — they appeared to be teenagers. One was frantically telling the driver to keep going, motioning with his hand. I was barely able to hit the brakes as they swerved and bumped against my front fender. They continued on and bumped the side of a white minivan on their left and then bumped into a dark blue pickup with a camper-top type thing which was knocked off.
The cops came to a halt just feet in front of me while a second car continued on past to attempt pursuit. That car lost it’s left rear view mirror brushing against the white van. That policeman returned a bit later claiming he had lost them at the intersection of MLK and Hill Street. He believed they had bailed out of the van because of the lack of sightings.
I have to say that the Decatur cops were awesome. They were fast, professional, and very personable. They made sure we were all ok and were very open and honest with everything that happened. They told us the full story above including the fact that the chase was upwards of 100mph down the whole length of Dekalb Avenue (a non-trivial distance).
Unfortunately, we had to wait for the Atlanta PD because the accident happened in their jurisdiction. It was a long wait. Finally an APD car showed up, but the officer had no interest in dealing with the Decatur cops or us. In fact, he refused to shake the DPD captain’s hand. It was truly bizarre. I can only assume he didn’t want have to do any paperwork. He went back to his car and presumably called someone else in to take care of our accident reports. The next officer was better, but not by much.
The movies taught me that local cops hate the FBI. I found out the other day that suburb cops hate city cops. Or perhaps, more likely, everyone just hates the APD.
Somebody needs to shoot these fools. Here is an original idea-”Get a job”. I guess it’s a lot more glamorous to prey on people who actually want to work for a living, but they will get theirs in the end.
Wow. Thanks for sharing your story Wiggly! Glad to hear you’re OK.
Did the Decatur PD happen to mention how they caught up with these guys?
Its a tragic crime that provoked alot of anger and sadness in me….however the person that is listed on this string as Decatur30030 (writing colored boys need to go back to Africa..etc) makes me just as sick to my stomach to be living in a community where people actually think like this. As a former northerner I love the City of Decatur for its progressive thinking…a bastion in a somewhat backwards State….that is until some religious wierdo walks up to me and asks if I am sure I am going to get into heaven or I hear vomit such as what was just emitted from the writings of Decatur30030, I actually forget I am living in the South. Perhaps Decatur30030 should go back to Appalachia? (rude isn’t it?)
@decaturite — sorry, no.
Agreed. Decatur30030’s comment was entirely inappropriate and has therefore been deleted.
Keep it civil folks.
I’m the owner of Kaleidoscope and I just wanted to thank you all for your kind words of support. You all are the reason why I chose Decatur to have a business. The girls are physically doing o.k., just emotionally traumatized. The only way they’re going to catch these guys is if they can find out where they’re unloading these jeans. It’s going to to take a collective effort from the DPD (who’s excellent by the way!) and the APD. If anyone sees or hears anything, please let them know. We’re really grateful to belong to such a wonderful community. Thanks again eveyone!
Camille, thanks so much for writing in. Our hearts go out to you and the girls involved.
I completely agree with you about finding out how these guys are unloading this stuff. I don’t think it would be so rampant if it wasn’t really easy to exchange it for cash. Hopefully the two PDs can get to the bottom of it soon, before they strike again.
Camille:
This is why you have stayed in business for 7 years in Decatur. Even in the face of adversity, you remain upbeat. You are always nice when folks visit the store, you have a smile on your face and you make everyone feel welcome whether they make a purchase or not.
I hope only good things for you and the young ladies working with you.
You rock!
Looks like they’ve got some people.
Thanks for the link Leoghann.
But while the arrests in Dawsonville are certainly good news, I doubt they’re the same guys that robbed Kaleidoscope. I’m pretty sure there are dozens of opportunists that have discovered an easy way to unload this stuff and are robbing stores all over the state. The press has confused the matter by giving these criminals the cutesy name of “blue jean bandits”, which gives the false impression that its the same guys over and over again.
I think that drugs play a big part in these events its unfortunate when u turn on the news and see yor family members and certin of ur other friends that have sopposedly committed these crimes and u think by knowing them how could they do this i want to say on behalf of the people that got robbed of hurt in these incidents i apologize because i know the suspects they have in custody werent raised like that