Jaheim Jackson smiled widely for his mugshot as police officers booked him for allegedly participating in a mob shoplifting raid on an Ulta Beauty store in Lakeview last week. A judge allowed him to go home by posting a $500 deposit in that case, which involved allegations of taking $8,500 worth of fragrances.
Cops arrested Jackson again late last week after investigators connected him to a similar raid on an Ulta store in suburban Berwyn two months ago.
While his bond court hearing on Saturday did not provide images of Jackson’s face, he sure didn’t sound like he was smiling as a different judge slammed him with a much higher bail.
“The alleged value of the goods that were taken was $2,865,” Judge Maryam Ahmad said after hearing allegations about the Berwyn case. “With that amount in mind, bail is set in the amount of $30,000-D.”
“That’s … That’s $3,000?” Jackson stammered in a stunned tone.
“You need $3,000 to be released from custody, Mr. Jackson,” the judge confirmed. A so-called “D bond” requires a 10% deposit for release.
“I’m not going to be able to be bonded out!” Jackson whined.
“You need $3,000 to be released from custody, Mr. Jackson,” Ahmad repeated as she asked prosecutors to name Jackson’s next court date.
“I can’t make that bond.”
“Mr. Jackson, should someone post your bond, your next court date is December 8th,” Ahmad continued.
“Post bond today?” Jackson asked. “But, that’s too much.”
“Good luck, sir,” Ahmad said as she moved on to her next case.
As of Tuesday morning, Jackson is still in the Cook County Jail.
Ulta Beauty stores have been hard-hit by shoplifting mobs. A woman who appeared during the same bond court session as Jackson on November 29 was accused of helping steal $4,655 worth of fragrances from the chain’s Greektown location.
In September, a paying customer recorded another shoplifting team’s raid at an Ulta in Norridge. That crew escaped with about $10,000 worth of products, authorities said.
Ulta’s South Loop store has been repeatedly targeted, as has the company’s Mag Mile flagship, according to CPD records. In fact, the Michigan Avenue location was targeted three times between August 27 and August 31 alone.
The Ulta thieves are suspected of being the front-line soldiers of an organized crime operation that sells stolen name brand merchandise online at deep discounts.
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