It’s easy to get away with stealing all of a store’s merchandise with a U-Haul when there are thousands of looters running around downtown Chicago. It’s not quite as easy to get away when you’re the only one doing it.
That may be a lesson learned for three men who police say were caught red-handed during a West Loop store break-in early Thursday.
Prosecutors said police who responded to a burglary-in-progress call saw four men running out of Pillars, a clothing store at 1167 West Madison, at 1:52 a.m. A U-Haul truck containing $3,150 worth of the store’s merchandise was sitting in an alley behind the retailer.
Police allegedly caught up with three men: Reginald Williams, 21, and 18-year-olds Trevon Kight and Raynard Thompson. The fourth suspect got away.
Video shows the four men entering Pillars after Thompson tossed a brick through the store’s window, prosecutors said. Footage shows the men loading the store’s shoe inventory into the U-Haul and then running as police arrive, according to the state.
Prosecutors said the three men were wearing the same clothes as the burglars who were captured on video.
All three are charged with one count of felony burglary. Williams is also charged with resisting.
Thompson was held without bail for violating the terms of a bail bond he posted in a pending burglary case. Judge Susana Ortiz set bail in the Pillars burglary at $20,000 with electronic monitoring.
Williams was held without bail for violating the terms of a bail bond he posted for allegedly possessing a stolen motor vehicle in April. Ortiz set his bail in the new case at $15,000 with electronic monitoring.
Bail for Kight, who has pending robbery and retail theft cases in juvenile court, was set at $10,000 with electronic monitoring.
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