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by Brendan Dunne
A loaded gun, a pair of black adidas Yeezy 750 Boosts and some intervening good Samaritans were at the center of a botched sneaker robbery in New York City this weekend.
Mark Ross, 26, is being charged with grand larceny and Martiny Leon, 18, is being charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the incident, according to a report from the NYPD.
During the arrest, made at 11:40 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the corner of Wooster and Prince streets in SoHo, a loaded firearm was recovered from the jacket pocket of Leon.
Police aren't releasing the name of the victim but he spoke with Sole Collector, under the condition of anonymity, in a phone interview. According to him, Leon grabbed the adidas Yeezy 750 Boosts from him as he headed toward his car after purchasing a pair at the adidas Originals store in SoHo.
"I'm in front of my car on Wooster St. between Prince and Spring and I'm fumbling for my keys in my pocket," the victim said, recalling what happened. "I'm squeezing the bag in between my legs so it's not on the ground. While I'm still reaching for my keys, [Leon] comes behind me, snatches [the sneakers] and starts running."
The victim said he wasn't paying full attention to his surroundings, as he had his laptop out while he walked to his car and was trying to purchase another pair of the limited edition Kanye West sneakers via the adidas.com launch that happened to be going on at the same time. He said he's usually more cautious in situations involving this sort of coveted footwear.
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Moments after Leon grabbed the sneakers, the victim pursued. "I'm shouting at the top of my lungs, 'Stop this kid, stop him. He stole my shit!' There's people walking north on Wooster, but it's like older women and men who aren't really helping me — they just kind of stick their hands up and move over to the side and let the kid keep running."
The victim says that after a couple of blocks, two men on the street tackled Leon, sending the Yeezys flying into the street. After that, two security guards stepped out of a nearby store to detain the thief and call the police.
"The two security guards set the kid down on the sidewalk and kind of pat him down and they find a loaded gun," the victim said. "He's not saying anything. He's kind of dumbfounded that he got caught, he's very regretful that he got caught."
The victim said that Leon even apologized to him, insinuating that the robbery was something he had to do.
"He looks at me and he says, 'Look, I'm sorry man. He said if I didn't do it, it would be my ass.' Kind of saying that someone instructed him, or ordered him, to do it."
What the victim didn't realize at that point was that another man was involved in the crime.
He said that when police arrived, they brought him back to the adidas Originals store up the block, letting him know that the aforementioned Mark Ross was working in concert with Leon. The victim couldn't recall seeing Ross, but the security guard at the store said he saw Ross and Leon plotting outside the store.
Police arrested Ross and Leon, booking them on charges of grand larceny and, in the case of Leon, criminal possession of a weapon. Ross has since been released, while Leon remains incarcerated, according to the victim.
The victim is pressing charges and believes that the endeavor is worth the time invested for the sake of the safety of the sneaker community.
"I think it's completely worth it...cause if it's not me, they would do it to someone else. And someone else might not have been as lucky as I am. It could have ended really bad for someone."
