Police Friday asked for the public's help in tracking down two suspects who robbed an Irvine resident of a pair of gym shoes designed by singer Pharrell Williams and worth at least $6,000.
The victim, a 25-year-old man whose name was withheld, posted an ad on Craiglist to sell the pair of limited-edition Adidas designed by the singer known for the hit tune "Happy." One shoe has "You" emblazoned on it and the other says "Nerd."
The victim agreed to meet a respondent to the ad on Tuesday at the Irvine Market at 2540 Main St., according to Kim Mohr of the Irvine Police Department. The agreed-upon price was $6,000, but some pairs have been selling for up to $9,000, she said.
The victim got into the backseat of the prospective buyer's car, a white, four-door BMW 3 Series, and was immediately confronted by a second suspect brandishing a black, semi-automatic handgun and was forced to surrender the shoes and his cell phone before being told to get out of the car, Mohr said.
One of the suspects, seen on surveillance video at the market, is described as a black man in his 30s, 5-foot-9 and weighing about 185 pounds. He told the victim he goes by "Shorty."
The second suspect had dreadlocks. Mohr said the victim "did have the cell phone number of the suspect. However since his cell phone was stolen, we don't have any way to track him using that information.''
Anyone with information helpful to investigators was asked to call Detective Leticia Hernandez at (949) 724-7245.
