Chicago — Prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with operating a financial crime enterprise by shoplifting more than $5,000 worth of candy during raids of a CVS store in the Loop. Michael Johnson, 47, loaded entire shelves of candy into a duffle bag four times since August, prosecutors said Saturday.
On August 3, Johnson allegedly tossed candy and over-the-counter medications worth $1,129 into a green duffle bag and walked out of the store.
He returned to the same store on November 9, November 17, and November 21, and loaded between two and four shelves of candy into a duffle bag, and walked out with it, prosecutors allege.
Officials said that the store lost more than $1,000 worth of candy each time, and the candy stolen on November 21 was worth more than $1,900.
In addition to charging Johnson with four counts of felony retail theft, prosecutors also charged him with operating a continuing financial crime enterprise.
His public defender said he served in the US Army between 1993 and 1998 and was disabled while in the military.
In addition to the pending misdemeanor retail theft, Johnson was convicted of retail theft in 2019, manufacture-delivery in 2017, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and possessing a stolen motor vehicle in 2004, prosecutors said.
During a bail hearing on Saturday, Judge Susana Ortiz told Johnson he could go home on electronic monitoring without making a cash bond payment.