8 men were arrested in Arizona for stealing 1,800 pairs of “Son of Mars Low” Air Jordans
Eight men were arrested in Arizona for stealing 1,800 pairs of “Son of Mars Low” Air Jordans worth $300,000 from a train.
The eight people who were arrested in connection with a train robbery outside of Joseph City on March 2 allegedly took around 1,800 pairs of unreleased Air Jordan “Son of Mars Low” shoes worth around $300,000, according to records from the U.S. District Court of Arizona. The shoes were due to be released for sale to the public on May 1 and were supposed to cost around $165 per pair.
The information is included in a probable cause statement filed by a Homeland Security Investigations agent with the court on March 4.
The eight people who were arrested in connection with the train robbery were Javier Eduardo Valdez-Fierro, Alberto Jordan Atienzo-Otero, Jose Angel Rodriguez-Hurtado, Christian Andres Castro-Torres, Pedro Elieser Soltelo-Veliz, Yamir Eduardo Hernanez-Luzanilla, Leobardo Martinez-Vasquez and Jordy Manuel Verdugo-Gutierrez.
The ages and hometowns of those charged in the case are not included in the court documents, but the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office stated in a press release shortly after the arrest that all of them are believed to be in the country illegally. All eight have been charged with possession or receipt of goods stolen from interstate shipment.
Law enforcement officers were tipped off to the train robbery and were surveilling the area around 9 p.m. on March 2 when the robbery took place. Investigators were able to alert local law enforcement including the NCSO, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and BNSF, when the robbery started. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft also helped track down and arrest the eight suspects after they fled from the scene in a black van and a U-Haul truck. Another vehicle towing a box trailer also fled the scene.
HSI agents were able to talk to four of the suspects arrested in the robbery. Three of the men, Valdez-Fierro, Atienzo-Otero and Sotelo-Veliz, said that they were offered a job in Flagstaff by a friend. Castro-Torres said he was approached by an unknown person at a gas station in Chandler and asked if he wanted a job worth $200.
The HSI agent also stated that train robberies by “transnational criminal theft organizations” have been going on for the last 15 years throughout the Southwest, and the robberies have increased in the past two years.
