SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A Normal Heights man is making a plea for tips after a thief emptied out his rented storage locker, stealing more than $100,000 in sneakers.
A few years ago, Todd Miller quit his job and started an online business, reselling and sometimes restoring sneakers.
"I live in a studio apartment. Ran out of space, and it forced me to store the shoes elsewhere,” said Miller.
He rented a 5-foot-by-7-foot storage locker at Extra Space Storage Fashion Valley. His unit was wall-to-wall with shoeboxes. A few weeks ago came a call from the storage facility.
“It felt like an out-of-reality experience,” said Miller. “It was the call I never wanted to get. My heart dropped.”
Someone had broken the sliding lock on his unit.
“Crowbarred it out and was able to pop it real easy, it looks like,” said Miller.
The thief emptied out the storage locker and more than 300 pairs of sneakers.
About 75 of them were vintage, including two pairs of $1,000 Nike Grateful Dead Bears Opti Yellow and a 1985 Jordan I OG Chicago, which is the shoe Michael Jordan wore in his first game with the Chicago Bulls. The price tag? Nearly $3,000.
“I would say everything together is worth about $120,000,” said Miller.
Miller is not the only victim. A spokesperson with Extra Space confirmed a total of three break-ins within a period of a week.
As for Miller, he's now trying to stay afloat, after his entire inventory was wiped out.
Miller says his insurance on the locker was capped at $3,000. He says he wasn't aware he could have bought a plan with higher coverage limits.
“It's pretty much starting from day one for me. My worst nightmare, as far as my business,” said Miller.
Miller is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest or recovery of some, or all of the shoes. Police have collected surveillance video but have yet to release it.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help Miller rebuild his business.
If you have any information, call San Diego Police at 619-531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
Extra Space issued the following statement:
"We are working with authorities to provide any information we can on the break-ins. Security is a top priority for Extra Space. We will be evaluating our security measures, how this happened, and we will make improvements.”
