Five Venezuelan migrants were arrested in two separate incidents last week after stealing hundreds of dollars in merchandise from retailers in the suburbs outside of Chicago, authorities said.
The latest incident happened just before 1 p.m. Saturday at a Macy’s store in Oak Brook, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Lenguieyer Guevara-Muro, 27, and Jinder Moises Angulo-Aparicio, 20, allegedly stuffed the $770 worth of clothing into a foil-lined bag and left the store without paying.
Guevara-Muro left the store carrying the bag and refused to stop when loss prevention officers and an Oak Brook police officer on patrol approached him, according to authorities. He allegedly resisted when the police officer attempted to take him into custody and was taken to the ground and handcuffed.
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Angulo-Aparicio left the store a short time later and was taken into custody without incident.
In a separate incident on Friday, three Venezuelan migrants stole more than $500 worth of merchandise from a Kohl’s store in Elmhurst, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Elmhurst police arrested Ilys Mary Ledesma Zapata, 37, Christian Johan Saavedra-Omona, 21, and 33-year-old Braud Pineda Avendano. Police allege that Ledesma Zapata was in possession of a large magnet used to bypass anti-theft devices in the store.
"For the second day in a row, my office has filed charges against individuals from Venezuela accused of stealing merchandise from a retail store," DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said.
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All five migrants were charged with burglary and retail theft. Only Guevara-Muro was being detained pre-trial, while a judge ordered the other four defendants released.
Earlier this month, Oak Brook Deputy Chief of Police Reid Foltyniewicz warned citizens of an uptick in criminal activity after a series of retail thefts involving Venezuelan migrants.
"We want everyone to be aware of the increase in criminal activity from the migrant community coming from Chicago," Foltyniewicz said at the time.
