Eight Chicago Juveniles Face Various Charges In Rosemont Mall Incident
Rosemont IL April 15 2019 Eight Chicago juveniles, aged 15 to 18, were charged with various crimes following a March 30 retail theft incident at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago, according to police.
A Rosemont police officer was dispatched to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago to assist on a suspicious circumstance call. A security officer pointed out two young individuals who were suspected of retail theft from Zumiez. Police approached the suspects and told them to stop.
Police told the suspects to move away from the street near the building and toward a bench. One of the juveniles complied, but the 18-year-old refused and was placed under arrest for obstructing a peace officer.
The juvenile who originally complied attempted to run away when a group of five of six young males rounded the corner of the north side of the mall and yelled at the two suspects. At that time, mall security helped Rosemont police box the fleeing juvenile in, but the other boys ran off north and east of the mall. Additional officers gave chase.
An auxiliary officer caught and handcuffed one juvenile at the rear of the Rosemont Theatre, and a public safety officer took another juvenile to the ground, according to the police report. The grounded juvenile claimed he had chest pain, so an ambulance was called for evaluation. He allegedly said he felt better and refused treatment. The public safety officer sustained a puncture wound to his lower left leg and was transported to Resurrection Hospital for cleaning and bandaging.
A sergeant and public safety officer captured a suspect near the Caddyshack restaurant off of Balmoral Avenue. The suspect complied when told to stop and was handcuffed.
A detective sergeant apprehended three suspects at the Rosemont Blue Line CTA Station. CTA personnel told police the three hopped the turnstiles and ran onto the platform.
An officer went to Zumiez and asked employees what happened. One of the employees said she caught a suspect attempting to steal a shirt but was able to retrieve it from him before the group left. However, the security tag was removed and the shirt had a hole. Six of the suspects allegedly returned to the store and began grabbing shirts off the shelves and staff alerted security. Staff wished to sign complaints for the attempted retail theft and damage to property.
Mall security also stated they received a call from Finish Line about a group of males attempting to steal from the store. The manager said she was suspicious of the group because six males came in to try on shoes and ran out of the store with more than $1,300 worth of items in December. The manager believed it was the same group, but police were unable to confirm the identities of the suspects.
All suspects were fingerprinted at the police station because they did not have identification.
The eldest suspect provided initially provided a fictitious name but was later found to have an active bond forfeiture warrant out of Orland Park. Another juvenile provided a fake name, but fingerprinting revealed his identity and seven prior arrests.
Parents were contacted to retrieve their children, but five suspects’ parents were unable to come at the time and gave permission for other parents to give their children a ride home.
One suspect had $157.79 of unpaid merchandise from Zumiez, $79.93 from Nordstrom Rack and $47.98 from H&M. Another suspect had a $3 pair of Nike shoelaces on his person.
All seven unnamed juvenile suspects were charged with resisting or obstructing a peace officer. One faced additional charges of retail theft and possession of stolen property, and another faced additional charges of attempted retail theft and criminal damage to property.
The eldest suspect was charged with resisting and obstructing a peace officer, obstructing identification, bond forfeiture warrant and a local ordinance of encouraging delinquency of minors. He was processed and was unable to provide a bond for the Rosemont charges or his warrant. His court date is at 10:30 a.m. May 14 at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse. His administrative hearing at village hall is at 2 p.m. April 18.
journal.com
