Two people arrested in connection to train robberies of Nike shoes
Two people arrested in connection to train robberies of Nike shoes
Two people who police say were linked to train robberies of Nike footwear were arrested in Arizona last week.
The Hualapai Nation Police Department said two unnamed suspects, a male and a female who had entered the U.S. illegally, were taken into custody.
The first arrest occurred on March 27 when officers pulled over a vehicle suspected of being connected to the heists. According to a news release, eight people fled the scene when the Maroon Chevy Tahoe was pulled over.
The male driver, who is from Mexico, was arrested, and Nike shoes were found near the vehicle, police said.
More: Train heists in remote desert areas of the West have netted millions in Nike shoes
Suspect leads police on 80-mile chase
According to the Hualapai Nation Police, a patrol sergeant and officer pulled over another vehicle on Highway 66 after the female driver didn't "yield to an emergency vehicle."
The sergeant ordered the woman to get out of the white Toyota 4Runner. Although she initially followed instructions, police said she "re-entered the vehicle, shifted it into gear, and accelerated away from the scene at a high rate of speed."
The officer was hit by the vehicle during the woman's attempted escape but did not suffer any injuries. Police pursued the woman for about 80 miles until she lost control at a construction area near the Arizona-California state line.
Per the department, she struck a guardrail and was ejected from the vehicle. She was taken to a hospital in Mohave Valley for minor injuries.
According to police, both suspects were transported to the Mohave County Adult Detention Center. Police did not specify if they were charged.
Robbers stealing millions worth of Nike merchandise in train heists
The arrests come amid a string of train heists targeting Nike shoes around the West.
In less than a year, at least 10 such train heists in California and Arizona have netted about $2 million worth of Nike shoes, USA TODAY confirmed in February after the Los Angeles Times first reported the string of robberies. More than 60 people are being charged in federal court in connection with the 10 heists, as well as other thefts in 2023 and 2024.
The robberies work like a 'human conveyor belt,' with the goods passed from the train to the ground, to a truck, according to Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at CargoNet, a private company that provides supply chain theft intelligence to law enforcement.
'It's done fast. It's fast as lightning,' Lewis told the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, adding that the thieves like conducting the heists in isolated areas so they have time to flee. 'A lot of those areas you can't get to other than with a helicopter ... You can't even get to some of those rail tracks with off-road vehicles.'
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.
Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
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