Nov 24, 2008

Noted Cowboy boot maker hit by $3M theft

Justin Boots, a Texas boot maker dating back to 1879, and has had its headquarters in Fort Worth since 1925.

A truck-driving thief made off with more than $3 million worth of merchandise from the venerable maker of cowboy boots and other footwear, authorities said.

The thefts occurred Labor Day weekend and Nov. 9 at a Justin Boots distribution center, said Fort Worth police Lt. Paul Henderson.

A surveillance video shows a white single-cab tractor entering the property without a trailer and each time leaving with one. The driver gained entry by cutting the locked chain securing the gate.

Over Labor Day, three containers mounted on three chassis were taken, holding 10,740 pairs of boots and 7,400 sets of boot uppers worth nearly $2.4 million, Henderson said.

On Nov. 9, two more shipping containers-chassis sets were taken, holding nearly 10,000 pairs of boots worth nearly $800,000, he said. Four of the five shipping container-chassis sets were found abandoned and empty; the fifth is still missing.

Justin Boots has been a part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway since 2000.

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