Update: In an unrelated matter, Mamaroneck Village police say Mendes was due in Court Thursday on an assault charge dating back to December, 2010. Police say he did not appear and will be called to appear again.
Saturday’s police activity at Plaza Bootery in Larchmont was apparently the result of the store’s owner robbing a customer and then fleeing, according to several sources. The apparent robber had not been apprehended as of press time.
A witness tells theLoop she went to the store with a friend and store owner Lee Mendes “pushed (her friend) on her side and took her pocket book” while arguing with her about a pair of shoes. Continued calls to Larchmont Police Detectives were not returned.
Several readers contacted theLoop with the same or similar information over the weekend.
The two women, who work in Larchmont and who asked not to be identified, visited the store Saturday. “He told us if we paid cash, we could get a discount,” the witness said, “so my friend went to the bank to get cash.” The friend, she said, has known Mendes and his family for many years. While they were in the store and just before the alleged incident, she said, they had been looking at family photos together.
“He just kept watching her,” she said.
The witness tells us her friend asked Mendes for “a pair of shoes in size 11, for her son, and he kept going downstairs and bringing back the same shoes in size 10. Finally,” she said, “he brought back the shoes, and he had ripped out the label and wrote size 11 on it.”
When her friend said, “What are you doing? You changed the label!,” the witness said, “He grabbed her bag and ran downstairs with it.”
He left the building through the basement before police arrived.
The witness says that both she and her friend were questioned by police, who produced “an old xeroxed picture of him, that didn’t really look like him anymore.”
She says the Larchmont police detective said he could not arrest the suspect without positive identification.
The store was open for business today.
Mendes already faces charges for allegedly selling counterfeit Ugg boots and North Face clothing.
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Hi Editrix,
I’m just writing to tell my much less exciting story–around Xmas, I wanted to purchase a North Face ski jacket for my son. The man behind the register was clean cut and polite, but another man approached me as I was paying and said I’d get a discount if I paid cash. I had a bad feeling then and there…I’ve bought many times from Plaza in the past, and never seen him there…the man was a bit “gansta,” had bloodshot eyes, smelled like smoke, and had a really big dog with him. I kept telling myself not to be judgmental based on appearances. I went to the bank, got cash, and bought the jacket only after having them assure me I could bring it back if it didn’t fit. Next, the guy gave me a Plaza Bootery card (no name) with his cell number on it and asked me to call him if I ever wanted to “have a party to sell North Face or Uggs” at a discount. As soon as I got home, I did a search online and found the jacket I had purchased was actually a prior season’s women’s jacket and co
uld be purchased for far less than what I paid. Luckily, the “gangsta” guy wasn’t there when I went back, and I was pleasantly refunded my cash. A few weeks later I read about all the Plaza Bootery drama. Totally had a bad feeling about that! Of course, I can’t find the card now, but I kept it for a while and even showed it to a friend telling her the story. I’m looking for it, and if I find it I’ll call the police w/the number, even though they are probably way ahead on this. Thanks for keeping the story going!
Whoever said money can’t buy happiness simply didn’t know where to go shopping.
– Bo Derek
Just when you think a story’s on it’s last leg, our editrix let’s the other boot drop :-) Keep up the fine work and thanks for keeping us in theloop.