“Shocking the conscience,” police describe the violent sneaker robbery at Dick's House of Sport

COLONIE, NY (WRGB) — CBS 6 learns more about Saturday's brutal robbery at Dick's House of Sport in Colonie, where a group of suspects attacked a father and son and then disappeared with their newly purchased sneakers.

According to Colonie police, a group of five suspects ambushed the victims in a busy store just before noon, attacking them over limited edition sneakers.

According to police, it appears the suspects were lying in wait, waiting for unsuspecting shoppers to purchase the sneakers before carrying out their attack.

A 43-year-old father and his 19-year-old son were the unsuspecting victims who purchased two pairs of limited edition Jordans.

According to police, the pair were approaching the exit when the robbers caught their attention before revealing their true intentions. Then violence quickly ensued.

“When the fight started, it was in the baseball area of ​​Dick's House of Sport and it escalated there. A bunch of bats fell off a rack and then as the bats were scattered everywhere, people started picking them up and using them on each other,” said Lt. Anthony Sidoti of the Colonie Police Department.

“Thefts happen, but for people to use baseball bats as weapons and physically attack and injure two innocent people just to steal a pair of sneakers, that's the first time I've experienced that. And I think that crosses a line for all of us, it's a shock to the conscience,” Sidoti said.

The police were able to arrest one of the suspects shortly after the incident.

Kyle H. Fowlkes, 19, of Colonie, was found at the scene and arrested. The remaining suspects are still at large.

He was charged with first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The defendant was arraigned in Colonie Town Court and remanded to the Albany County Correctional Facility. Bail was set at $10,000 cash, $50,000 surety, and $100,000 partially secured bail pending a preliminary hearing.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the fight and/or has cell phone video of the incident to contact the Colonie Police Investigations Division at 518-783-2754.