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Thieves Rip Doors Off Best Buy, Steal iPods, Laptops

POSTED: 1:02 pm EST February 15, 2007
UPDATED: 1:09 pm EST February 15, 2007

A trunk load of stolen electronics was recovered and it may be just the beginning. Police in Melbourne are looking for a group of thieves that pulled off a daring burglary early Thursday morning.

Some suspects even led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a rollover crash. There are at least three suspects, likely more, and they are all still on the run.

The store manager believes the thieves hitched up cars to the doors and ripped them right off the front of the Best Buy on Evans Road. The suspects then ran in and ransacked the place.

Shattered glass and snapped off pieces of metal were left everywhere. The thieves who hit the Best Buy took the smash and grab burglary to a whole new level.

"I've never seen anyone pull hurricane shutters out like that," said general manager Ole Goode.

Goode said the outside is bad, but inside is even worse.

The crooks ran in, ripped cages off the walls, smashed glass cases and grabbed only the hottest items.

"Stuff like iPods, GPSs, laptops, probably stuff that's easy to sell, sell quick," Goode said.

When police responded to the 6:00am alarm, they saw three vehicles speeding off. The suspects led police on a chase up US-192. They split up and went different directions.

One driver, in a blue BMW, ditched police on I-95. A short time later, the car smashed into another car, causing that car to flip.

"It's extremely dangerous. There's no regard. I mean, just from the start," said Sgt. Jamie Rocque, Melbourne Police Department.

The suspect, a tall, thin, dark-skinned man, then took off on foot, prompting an all out search. The blue car left behind, registered to a leasing company, was loaded with electronics.

Police believe the crime could be the work of a crew from South Florida that's been hitting electronics stores across the area.

"Definitely professionals, came in quantity, anywhere from five to ten folks," Rocque said.

Investigators said the men were in and out in less than four minutes, but they said it could take some time to track down the guys who did all the damage.

Police do have surveillance video from the store and expect to release that late Thursday. According to employees, it shows six or seven masked men who each appeared to have a specific job.


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