While parking thieves are nothing new, those of this magnitude are, and high-end theft is questionable if there was adequate security.
Bill Phillips said he and his girlfriend had just finished high-end shopping when the incident occurred.
“We were at Louis Vuitton, jewelers of David Yurman, Hermes,” Phillips said.
With their hands full of holiday gifts, the couple left the King of Prussia mall at the exit of the Nordstrom to leave the items in the back seat of the SUV.
Phillips said they returned to the mall to eat a bite and, less than 20 minutes later, received a call from his office.
“Saying,‘ Are you in the mall? “I said,‘ Yeah, I’m here now. ’They said,‘ You better get back in your car. Someone got in your car and stole it from you, ”Phillips said.
Two witnesses told police that two women threw themselves at Phillips’ SUV with a bat or hammer, smashed his bezel and took off with the loot.
“In a minute or a minute and a half, they were no longer there,” Phillips said.
Witnesses said the thieves had their license plates covered.
Phillips said what was even more troubling was that the mall’s surveillance cameras did not capture the crime, even one that was just above his vehicle.
“They said it pointed to the elevator coming out of the lower level because they had problems with it, but the main parking area up there has no cameras,” Phillips said.
A glance at the parking lot seems to show four surveillance cameras. We wanted to know how no one captured the crime.
The Simon group owner of the mall made no comment when Action News pressed for answers about the investigation and whether the mall had enough vigilance at present.
Alta Merion police said it is unclear whether the criminals followed Phillips and his girlfriend outside the KOP mall or observed them in the parking lot.
Investigators said they have no clues.
“The vehicle was parked in an area that had no actual surveillance equipment,” Lt. Jeffery Maurer said. “But we’re trying to step back to see where our victims came from in the mall.”
Phillips said he works with his credit card companies to reimburse some of his luxury items.
“It’s a lot of money. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard anything from the mall. I haven’t heard anything from the police,” Phillips said.
Alt Merion police said they were stepping up patrols during the holidays, but people need to do their part and be aware of their surroundings.
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