Continuing a string of violent incidents at Lenox Square, a man who had just bought a pair of pricey Nike Air Jordan 1 sneakers recently became the latest victim of crime on the luxury mall’s property.
The Buckhead mall has had a problem with violence in recent years, struggling to maintain its reputation as a posh shopping center in Atlanta’s richest neighborhood. In September, it started a “youth supervision program,” requiring minors to be accompanied by adults after 3 p.m. every day.
So far this year, the mall ranks first citywide for reports of larceny, although the number of reports is down by 36% year-to-date, according to Atlanta police crime data. In addition, at least four robberies have been reported at other locations near the mall in 2022.
The latest victim was walking to his car Jan. 28 when he was robbed at gunpoint by suspects who pulled up next to him in a red Chevrolet Camaro, according to an Atlanta police incident report. The victim was standing by his own car, which was parked near a Starbucks, by the time the suspect, armed with a black semi-automatic pistol, got out and demanded the victim’s shoe bag and wallet.
The suspect removed around $100 in cash from the wallet and handed it back to the victim, according to the incident report. The suspect then searched the victim’s car but did not take anything before getting back into the Camaro and driving off.
The victim flagged down an off-duty officer to report the robbery, describing the suspects as in their 20s. The man told police the suspect who held him at gunpoint was about 6-foot tall and slender, with long dreads. He was wearing a mask.
Air Jordan 1 sneakers retail for upwards of $170, with some Jordans released in limited quantities pushing the $400 range, making them extremely covetable.
For decades, people across the country have committed armed robberies and even killed over the shoes. Just Wednesday, two Idaho men were arrested after allegedly stealing four boxes of vintage Air Jordan sneakers during a late-night holdup in a south Boise neighborhood park, according to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
In 1990, Sports Illustrated wrote about the trend in a cover story titled, “Your sneakers or your life.” At the time, NBA star Michael Jordan told the magazine, “I thought people would try to emulate the good things I do, they’d try to achieve, to be better. Nothing bad. I never thought because of my endorsement of a shoe, or any product, that people would harm each other.”
In June, two 15-year-olds attempted to rob a Lenox Square security guard after mall hours and then shot him, leaving him critically injured, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. The teen suspects, a boy and girl, were arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit murder and a slew of other offenses.
Two months later, a man told police he had been shot near a mall parking garage by someone who left the area in a dark-colored sedan, according to previous reports. Investigators said it appeared the man had been targeted.
In 2020, Lenox Square was the site of at least six shootings, including a homicide that killed a Tennessee man, according to police. Arrests have been made in the majority of those cases.
The violence has reinvigorated an effort to make Buckhead its own city and prompted the mall to take further security measures, including a weapons detector installed in late 2020 at the main entrance. Atlanta police have also opened a mini-precinct inside the mall.
Lenox Square also participates in APD’s camera integration system called Connect Atlanta, a network of more than 4,500 surveillance cameras from across the city that allows officers to pull up footage on their cellphones and laptops from inside their squad cars before they even get to a scene.
“Lenox Square remains committed to doing all we can in partnership with the Atlanta Police Department to curtail crime in the area,” mall General Manager Robin Suggs said in a video released Wednesday by the department encouraging residents and business owners to join the network.
Participating in the network “will make it easier and faster for (APD) investigators to get in touch with you if an incident occurs in or around your location,” Deputy Chief Michael O’Connor said.
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