2 migrants suspected of stealing Nike shoes from Arizona trains arrested

HUALAPAI, Ariz. — Two people suspected to be involved in train robberies in Arizona were arrested on Thursday and both were determined to be in the country illegally, according to the Hualapai Nation Police Department. 

Thieves have targeted freight trains running through the deserts of Arizona and California in a string of heists resulting in the theft of more than $2 million worth of new Nike sneakers, including many that haven’t hit the retail market yet, according to officials and court documents obtained by the Associated Press. 

On Thursday, eight people ran from the scene when Hualapai Nation police pulled over an SUV that was suspected of being involved in the robberies. The male driver was detained and Nike shoes were recovered near the vehicle, police said. 

While that investigation was happening, police said another SUV was pulled over under the “move over” law after failing to yield for an emergency vehicle. The woman driver was told to get out of the car after police saw evidence from the train robberies, officials said, and she complied before jumping back in the SUV and taking off. An officer was reportedly hit by the vehicle but was not injured.

Police pursued that suspect for about 80 miles to near the Arizona-California border on I-40, police said. The woman lost control of the SUV in a construction zone and was ejected from the SUV, according to officials. She only suffered minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. 

Both were found to be in the U.S. illegally. They were booked into the Mohave County Detention Center for their alleged involvement in the robberies, Hualapai Nation police said. 

It is not clear if the eight people who ran from the scene were found. 

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