Burglars steal over $80,000 worth of merchandise from South LA shoe store

Burglars stole a combined $100,000 in cash and merchandise during a brazen robbery in South Los Angeles early Friday morning.

"They just broke in here and took a lot of stuff, shoes, clothes — high-end clothes," Kate, an employee, said.

At about 3:25 a.m., at least five suspects in face masks cut through the metal security gate outside Rich LA, a clothing and sneaker store in the 2100 block of West Century Boulevard, before smashing through the glass window. The group spent the next 15 minutes grabbing as much as possible and stuffing it into their cars: a white Mercedes-Benz, a silver Camaro, and a white Corvette. None of the cars had license plates.

"It's just unbelievable," Kate said. "I still can't understand that it is happening this morning."

The owner said the thieves got away with $80,000 worth of merchandise and another $20,000 in cash. This is the seventh time Rich LA has been robbed since it opened two months ago.

"People are going to sell it on the streets because this stuff costs a lot of money," Kate said.

Just last month, suspects smashed a car into the front of the store and got away with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. A few weeks later, the store posted a video on their Instagram of three men going in and grabbing clothes off the racks. Kate tried to run after them, but they took off. She said despite the rash of robberies at the store, they refused to close the business.

"We are going to put a bulletproof glass and we are not going to close," she said. "We are going to keep going."

The Los Angeles Police Department said Friday's break-in could be related to a similar burglary at a high-end sneaker store in Encino earlier this week.