Arrest in Chicago retail theft case linked to crew behind $100,000 in thefts
An arrest at a Lululemon athletic wear store in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago led investigators to a crew that was exploiting unhoused people and responsible for thefts totaling $100,000.
The Gold Coast and nearby Magnificent Mile have been hit hard by retail crimes over the years.
This area has been central to the Cook County Sheriff's part in the National Organized Retail Crime Blitz this month. Sheriff's officers recovered more than $130,000 in stolen merchandise and made nearly 100 arrests for charges like felony retail theft, aggravated battery to a police officer, felony forgery and aggravated assault.
From Aug. 3 through Aug. 7, Sheriff's Police:
- Made 85 arrests. Breakdown by charge:
- 31 Felony Retail Theft
- 36 Misdemeanor Retail Theft
- 3 Aggravated Battery to a Police Officer
- 2 Felony Burglary
- 1 Felony Theft Over $10,000
- 1 Felony Forgery
- 1 Aggravated Assault
- 1 Misdemeanor Anti-Theft Device Possession
- 9 Warrants.
- Conducted 409 merchant checks and 40 foot patrols.
- Recovered more than $130,000 in stolen merchandise. This includes the recovery of the about $90,000 worth of stolen health supplements as part of ongoing cargo theft investigation.
One of those arrests was a woman arrested at the Lululemon store on Rush Stret as she was trying to return stolen goods tied to an ongoing organized retail crime investigation.
Investigators said the crew behind the stolen goods was exploiting unhoused people, offering them money or drugs to steal items from Lululemon and other stores.
Experts said cases like this one are often tied to more widespread crime.
"When organized retail crime happens, that money is then used to fund other kinds of crimes. We know this. Law enforcement has documented this time and time again. It's connected to narcotic cases, human trafficking, all sorts of unsavory activities," said Michael Konopasek with Auror, a nationwide intelligence platform retailers are using to share information with each other and police.
Their data shows the top 10% of offenders are behind 77% of retail crime across Chicago and oftentimes are connected to other crimes.
Konopasek said Auror allows users to see if specific crimes match the characteristics of other crimes.
"Without this platform, you would see so many more crimes go undetected," Konopasek said of Auror. "We are that software that you can enter in the information on the platform and then you can connect the dots on retail crime with other store locations."
According to the Cook County State's Attorney's office, prosecutors more than doubled the number of retail theft cases charged last year.
"Since Jan. 1, we have approved charges in 640 felony retail theft cases and prosecuted 1,479 cases retail theft cases, including misdemeanors filed directly by law enforcement. Since the beginning of the year, we have secured guilty verdicts in 829 retail theft cases," a spokesperson said.
