A group of newly arrived immigrants who may be part of a larger criminal organization are behind a spate of retail thefts and robberies in suburban Chicago, police said.
A total of 47 immigrants have been arrested since October in the village of Oakbrook, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of Second City, Police Chief Brian Strockis said. told Fox Newsadded that many of the incidents targeted Macy's, a local shopping mall.
On Jan. 13, Jaime Ubaldo Obando Andrade, 32, tried on a $395 jacket at a department store without paying, according to a news release from DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin's office. He is said to have left.
Police said they found about $3,000 worth of stolen property in Obando-Andrade's car, as well as rolls of aluminum foil and a fake driver's license.
Shoplifters sometimes do Line bag with aluminum foil Officials say this was to evade the store's theft detection system.
Officers also found an ICE electronic monitoring device that Obando-Andrade allegedly cut off, according to the state attorney's office. Obando-Andrade was denied pretrial release.
“These retail crimes involving immigrant criminals are part of a larger criminal organization, and we are working closely with our federal partners to thoroughly investigate these incidents,” Strokkis said. he said in a release.
In October, Venezuelan immigrants Luis Mendez-Gomez, 28, and Frank Montes-Davila, 23, were arrested and granted pretrial release on suspicion of stealing nearly $3,000 in luxury cosmetics from Macy's.
A week earlier, two other Venezuelan immigrants had been arrested and charged with robbery and retail theft after separately stealing clothing from the store, authorities said.
“I want everyone to be aware of the increase in criminal activity by the immigrant community from Chicago,” Oak Brook Police Deputy Chief Reid Foltyniewicz said at the time.
Chicago, a sanctuary city, has accepted about 34,000 immigrants since 2022, although it does not cooperate with federal authorities investigating crimes committed by illegal immigrants or with local law enforcement examining their citizenship status.
In December, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Previously supported sanctuary city policiesimplored federal aid to address the border crisis.
“Chicago is not alone in not being able to sustain this mission without serious, significant investment from the federal government,” Johnson told CNN. “The whole country is at stake right now.”
The Oak Brook Police Department is working to crack down on shoplifting at shopping malls as part of a statewide retail crime task force. WGN-TV reported in December. Immigration is just the latest trend in an ongoing ring of suspected theft.
Police believe members of an organized retail theft operation may have approached the Chicago immigrant and offered to pay for the theft. “We think this is part of something much bigger,” Strokkis told the magazine.
In the first two weeks of 2024 alone, 21 people were charged with stealing merchandise from stores in DuPage County, according to Berlin city officials.
Last week, Governor Hochul announced plans to spend $40 million next year to fight retail theft in New York.
