The mall chase scene between Elwood and Jake and Chicago’s finest culminates in a memorable moment in cinematic cult classic history as glass explodes between fleeing customers and well placed product advertisements literally flying the off shelves thanks to the destructive tendencies of amply muscled sedans maneuvered heedlessly through confined shopping concourses.
In a scene ripped from reality, a quartet of burglars in Zephyrhills, Florida did their best impression of “crashing” the party of a local gun shop, as they efficiently employed a truck and in true Hollywood fashion, thoroughly disabled any and all security features of a small business. WFTS-TV reports that the perps stole the pick-up and expertly plowed through the front of Sunshine State Armory, before enjoying an abbreviated shopping spree and miraculously driving from the scene. While the team of cretins did not have the added pressure of echoing the chase of the Blues Brothers, the operation lasted a mere 31 seconds and of course was captured on video. This is the latest in a series of incidents nationally involving burglars gaining quick and destructive access into a firearms retailer through the use of a stolen automobile as a contemporary battering ram.
To add insult to injury, the burglars dropped off the Toyota in an abandoned quadrant of town and set fire to the vehicle, prompting a fireworks show from the discarded ammunition. There is no word yet, whether the Japanese automaker will use the raw security footage in future Superbowl advertising campaigns. Local authorities are offering a whopping $2500 for information leading to the capture of the crooks.
Read the full WFTS-TV story here.
VIDEO: Smash and Grab
