Six migrants from Venezuela and Chile stole over $10,000 from a Macy’s in a suburb of Chicago in two separate retail theft incidents on Tuesday, authorities said.
The retail thefts occurred at the Macy’s department store located at 1 Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, a store that has been plagued with a string of thefts and burglaries by migrants in recent months.
"I believe that six felony arrests in one day illustrates that migrant criminal activity is a real problem," Oak Brook Chief of Police Brian Strockis said in a written statement on Wednesday.
In one case that occurred just before 6:30 p.m., 20-year-old Nicolas Paillacan-Bravo and 34-year-old David Saez-Vega allegedly removed anti-theft devices from merchandise with a magnet they had taken into the store, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
STRING OF RETIAL THEFTS, BURGLARIES BY MIGRANTS PLAGUING CHICAGO SUBURB: AUTHORITIES
The men, who are from Chile and staying in Chicago, allegedly stuffed 54 items into two suitcases they had taken from the luggage department. Officials said the cost of the items totaled approximately $10,155.
Police were waiting outside the store when the two men exited without paying for the merchandise, according to authorities.
Officers had earlier responded to another retail theft at the store involving four Venezuelan migrants, all of whom were staying in Countryside, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.
The suspects were identified as Elvis Rodriguez-Rubio, 28, Gabriela Salzar-Vasquez, 30, Victor Sevilla-Arteaga, 33, and 27-year-old Danielis Vasquez-Arteaga.
The group went to the store’s Tommy Hilfiger section, where they took merchandise from the racks into a fitting room on the second floor, where the women exited wearing all of the items, officials said.
When the four left the store wearing the merchandise, authorities said that a loss prevention officer intercepted them outside. The items totaled approximately $927.
All six migrants were charged with one count of burglary, a class two felony, and one count of retail theft, a class three felony.
During their first court appearance Wednesday, prosecutors said a judge denied the state’s motion to detain the defendants.
In late October, Oak Brook Deputy Chief of Police Reid Foltyniewicz warned the public of "the increase in criminal activity from the migrant community coming from Chicago."
From Octtober 23 to January 17, a total of 47 migrants were arrested in Oak Brook, Illinois, most of whom were charged with retail theft and burglary, Strockis told Fox New Digital last week.
Strockis said on Wednesday that the sheer number of these types of arrests in the past few months is "significant" and that the department was prepared to continue enforcing the law.
"We are well prepared to continue our enforcement efforts, and I can assure you that there are easier places to commit these crimes than Oak Brook or DuPage County," the chief said.
