Burglars smashed through the front door of a vintage clothing shop on Cleveland's West 25th Street before dawn Tuesday, grabbing cash and a handful of one-of-a-kind items in a raid that owner Lexi Ross says lasted barely two minutes. Among the missing goods: a 1990s Cleveland Browns jersey representing Lee Suggs that Ross had kept in her collection at Spooky Studio.
Cleveland Police received an alarm from the shop at approximately 2:33 a.m. Tuesday, according to News 5 Cleveland. When officers arrived, they found the front door broken and shattered, the outlet reported. Ross said her landlord called her shortly after police showed up, and she rushed to the store herself.
“I got here at 2:30 in the morning, and I didn't leave until they could board up the door at like 3 or 4 p.m.,” Ross said, according to the report. She described the intruders as efficient and clearly experienced, telling the station, “They were out in two minutes. They were pros. They knew what they were doing, in and out, went right to the register, pried it open.”
What the Thieves Took
Ross said the burglars pried open the shop's register and made off with cash along with several unique vintage clothing pieces, the station's report notes. The most painful loss, she said, was the 1990s Browns jersey bearing Lee Suggs's name — the kind of item that is nearly impossible to replace once it's gone from a vintage inventory. Per the same account, the thieves had left the scene before police arrived roughly 20 minutes after the alarm went out.
Spooky Studio's own surveillance cameras were not working during the break-in, but footage from a neighboring building captured the incident, the article notes. A still image from that nearby camera showed two men in hoodies, one red and one black, though neither has been identified. As of Wednesday, no one had been arrested in connection with the break-in.
Owner Focuses on Reopening, Not Anger
Despite the loss, Ross said she wasn't furious with whoever broke into her shop, describing herself as being in shock rather than angry in the hours after the burglary. She is now working on getting an estimate to replace or repair the boarded-up front door while also raising roughly $2,000 through GoFundMe, money she said will go toward door expenses, the lost merchandise, the missing cash and register repairs, according to News 5 Cleveland.
Anyone with information about the suspects seen in the surveillance still is asked to contact the Cleveland Police Second District at (216) 623-5200, as noted by News 5 Cleveland.
Doors Reopen Saturday With a Discount
Ross plans to reopen Spooky Studio on Saturday, Nov. 7, and is offering a 25% discount on everything in the store, as reported by News 5 Cleveland. She said she hopes shoppers will come out to support the business and that browsing the shop's racks will still bring the same nostalgic pull that drew people in before the break-in.
