About 10 to 15 people broke into the Urban Appeal store in downtown Lakeland early Tuesday and stole jeans worth hundreds of dollars a pair.

LAKELAND — About 10 to 15 people broke into the Urban Appeal store in downtown Lakeland early Tuesday and stole jeans worth hundreds of dollars a pair.

The group used a decorative red chair that sat outside the store at 123 Kentucky Ave. to shatter the front glass, said Sgt. Gary Gross of the Lakeland Police Department.

Gross said police think this burglary is not related to a January incident in which stones with Nazi swastikas were left at the back door of the store that is owned by three brothers of Palestinian descent.

Surveillance footage shows the thieves entering the store with garbage bags and grabbing items of clothing.

Many of the suspects stole Robin brand jeans, which are valued at about $500 to $700 a pair, reports said.

An exact total value of the stolen items will not be known until an inventory is conducted by the owner, Gross said.

The smash-and-grab burglary appears to have been planned by a well-organized group, Gross said.

By the time Lakeland Police Department officers arrived at the store, the suspects were gone.

Several pieces of clothing were scattered on the sidewalk in front of the store.

Gross said investigators think the group may have come from Tampa or Orlando and has done this before in other places.

The store has been getting a lot of attention recently after the rocks with swastikas painted on them were left at the store's back door.

A surveillance camera in the alley behind the store captured a video of a man placing the rocks at the back door the morning the rocks was found.

Gross said that case is still open but that it is not considered a crime.

"It's not a crime for the rock to be out there," Gross said.

But many people on social media said it was a hate crime because of the owners' ethnicity.

Investigators conducted surveillance in the area for several days in an attempt to find the man who may have placed the rock but had no luck.

The case is still open but Gross said if they do find the man, it will only be to get his side of the story.

But that the story about the rocks, published first by The Ledger, gained a lot of attention outside of Polk County, and carried a description of the store that included the fact that it sold high-end apparel.

Gross said it is possible that mention may have given the burglary suspects the idea.

"It very well could have played a role but we don't know that for a fact," he said.

Owners of Urban Appeal, Alo, Dino and Ehab Shalaby, could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

The investigation into the burglary is ongoing.

— Tori Walker can be reached at tori.walker@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. Follow Tori on Twitter @Torilwalker863.