CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Thefts and burglaries continue to impact high-end retailers in Chicago. Now, prosecutors said two men responsible for some of the crimes were selling stolen merchandise at a fast-food restaurant.
Twice last month there were thefts of thousands of dollars worth of coats from North Face stores on North Michigan Avenue and in Wicker Park.
Two men grabbed them and walked out.
In the North Michigan Avenue incident, they dragged a security guard along with them, as he tried to hold onto the store’s merchandise. The duo then escaped with $4,992 worth of coats in a Honda Accord, but not before a witness made a note of the car’s license plate number.
After the witness gave police the license plate number of car used in the thefts, police spotted the car outside a Subway restaurant at 79th and Halsted in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood.
Police spoke to two men inside who, they said, had North Face coats, but they weren’t immediately arrested.
Two days later, the men stole $3,080 worth of coats from The North Face in Wicker Park. According to CWB Chicago, the men again returned to the Subway in Auburn-Gresham.
CWB Chicago reported detectives were at the Subway going over surveillance video when the men brought in new stolen goods, perfume and coats, and loudly dumped it all on a table.
It’s alleged they were selling the stuff from a table at the Subway. They were arrested.
One of them, 18-year-old Semaj Bryant, was in court Wednesday. He was charged with operating a continuing financial crime enterprise and three counts of retail theft.
The judge, Charles Beach, said, “Why in the world that Subway allows you to come back there each and every time, I don’t know.”
The judge set bail at at $100,000. Bryant must post a $10,000 deposit to get out of jail, which was roughly the value of the merchandise he was alleged to have stolen.
Related
