A Fagin couple who used their kids to steal in the USA have been arrested after their kids pocketed nearly USD 1,000 worth of merchandise from a suburban store.
Fagin was the infamous character from ‘Oliver Twist’ who used children to steal for him.
Angelo Almaraz, 26, from Chicago, in the state of Illinois, and Thalia Morales, 32, from Hammond, in the state of Indiana, were charged with one felony count of burglary and one count of felony retail theft each.
The charges followed after they forced their four children to help them steal USD 962 (GBP 760) in merchandise from the Macy’s department store located at 1 Oakbrook Centre.
Prosecutors said the couple and the children entered the store which has been an ongoing target of retail theft since the start of the holiday season, at around 5.46pm on Monday, 27th November.
The group reportedly first went into the children’s section with the two eldest children one of whom was 13 years old.
The children then began selecting items and handing them to the suspects, who then placed the items in Nordstrom Rack bags they had on them.
Near the exit, they were met by a loss prevention officer, after which they ran to their vehicle with the merchandise still in the bag and fled the scene.
DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “An Oak Brook Police officer responded to the area and pulled over their vehicle as it was attempting to turn onto Route 83.
“It is further alleged that the bag with the stolen merchandise, which totaled approximately USD 962, was in the vehicle.
“The defendants were taken into custody at this time.”
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said: “The allegations that two grown adults enlisted the help of children as they stole nearly USD 1,000 worth of merchandise are extremely disturbing.
“I caution anyone who is even thinking about coming to DuPage County to steal that if you do, you will be caught, charged, and prosecuted.”
Oak Brook Deputy Chief of Police Reid Foltyniewicz added: “We want to thank State’s Attorney Bob Berlin, his staff, and all our business partners in the community.
“We can’t do this alone, so we greatly appreciate everyone’s assistance in our steadfast efforts to eliminate retail crime in our community.
“In this case, it is heartbreaking to have adults force young children into criminal activity. If you commit a crime in Oak Brook, expect to be arrested.”
Almaraz and Morales were released after a judge denied the prosecutors’ motion to detain them both pre-trial.
They are scheduled for court on Tuesday, 26th December.
This is the third time the store has been targeted for theft during the busy holiday shopping season.
Two men from Venezuela were charged with stealing more than USD 750 (BP 592) merchandise earlier this week.
On Halloween, two other Venezuelan nationals, reportedly migrants, were also charged for stealing over USD 2,800 (GBP 2,213) worth of merchandise from the same store.
