An alleged serial shoplifter told Chicago police he was surprised workers at the store he hit in Lincoln Park kept records of his activities.
CWB Chicago reported Sunday that the suspect, identified as 46-year-old Renard Smith, had been arrested for shoplifting from a Target in Lincoln Park while he was on pretrial release for doing the same thing at that store ten times before.
Officers reportedly arrested Smith for alleged shoplifting three times in February.
An image shows the suspect:
A man charged with shoplifting from a Lincoln Park Target store while on pretrial release for shoplifting from Target stores 14 times in a month told police he was "surprised" the store kept records on him.https://t.co/I04ib8bCA4
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) March 3, 2024
The outlet also noted that authorities charged Smith in early February with misdemeanor retail theft after he allegedly tried to steal hundreds of dollars worth of men’s underwear from a Marshall’s store.
Smith was released the following day but did not appear for his scheduled court date. A few days after missing the appointment, he was nabbed yet another time for allegedly shoplifting more than $60 worth of items from the Target store located on North Clark.
Agents working at the store and the company’s North Clark location levied complaints against the suspect regarding 13 other alleged thefts, the CWB Chicago report continued:
He’s accused of stealing Flex earbuds, Galaxy earbuds, Tune earbuds, JBL headphones, clothing, a computer, computer hardware, and men’s underwear during 14 separate thefts between January 18 and his arrest. The value of the allegedly stolen merchandise in each case ranges from $100 to $902.
The suspect reportedly admitted to the criminal activity once he was slapped with several felony and misdemeanor counts of retail theft.
Although he was told not to go back to the Target store upon release, a security worker at the North Clark location saw him allegedly shoplift deodorants that were worth $99.67 and police took him into custody again.
Customers shop at a Target store (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg).
“The Target agent also filed complaints against him for allegedly stealing $147 worth of clothes on February 22, $242 worth of boxer shorts and clothing on January 14, and $305 worth of clothing on January 22,” the CWB Chicago report said.
Officers later said the man told them he realized the incidents had been recorded but believed he got away with them and “was surprised to know Target had records of his thefts as they never tried to stop him,” the outlet noted, adding that Judge Kelly McCarthy released him the following day.
He was told, once again, not to go back to that store.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the report, one person writing, “No idea why any corporation does business in blue cities.”
The report comes after a 43-year-old man was accused of shoplifting several times in Chicago after being released because Illinois eliminated cash bail, Breitbart News reported on February 22.
It is also important to note that at least 19 individuals were shot and two of them died over the weekend in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s (D) Chicago, where citizens have been suffering from rampant crime, the outlet reported on Monday.
