A two-man burglar team swiped more than $225,000 in designer handbags from a SoHo boutique during an after-hours break-in, police said Friday — a brazen theft that occurred a week before thieves raided a Gucci store in Manhattan of more than $50,000 in high-end bags and glasses.
The crooks in the Soho burglary entered Rebag on W. Broadway near Spring St. at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 12 by forcing open a basement door in front of the store, cops said.
They made their way up onto the retail floor above, where they smashed glass display cases and stole designer bags, including ones from Christian Dior, Alexander Wang, Tom Ford, and Prada.
Cops investigating the burglary used surveillance cameras to track the thieves to 60th Road and Fresh Pond Road in Queens, cops said.
The two were caught on a surveillance camera going through a subway station exit door. One of the two men was pulling a roller bag, the video shows.
A week after the SoHo burglary, a robbery crew targeted a Gucci store on W. 14th St. near Ninth Ave. in the Meatpacking District.
Two masked men, one holding a gun, charged into the store and grabbed whatever they could, surveillance video of the incident shared by the NYPD showed. At one point the gunman was unable to hold onto the five bags and pieces of luggage he was stealing and dropped some of them. His accomplice was recorded stuffing items into a large laundry bag.
A third suspect, a woman, was seen on video casing the store before the crooks stormed in, police said.
The trio got into a black Honda CR-V last seen heading into New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel. They have not been caught, but detectives said the suspects were linked to two vehicles, one of which has been recovered.
Cops on Friday released the images of the two men involved in the Rebag burglary in the hopes that someone recognizes them.
Both men are believed to be between 30 and 40 years-old and about 5-foot-8, cops said. One has a heavy build, facial hair and was last seen wearing a black hat, dark colored jacket and blue jeans. The second man has a slim build and facial hair and was wearing a dark colored hat with a black balaclava underneath, a black hooded jacket and black pants with stripes running down both legs.
Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
