
A substantial haul of approximately $2.4 million in suspected stolen goods and an assortment of firearms were seized from a Chicago store implicated in a fencing operation, as brought to light by a Cook County Sheriff's Police investigation. Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently announced the findings which spotlight illegitimate retail practices within the city.
The investigation by the Sheriff’s Police Organized Retail Crime Team led to a search warrant being executed on July 2, at a store located on the 2200 block of West Taylor Avenue. In a statement made by Cook County Sheriff's website, store employees were discovered to have purchased, and subsequently fenced stolen merchandise. They were also found to have directed individuals to procure specific high-value items like apparel, shoes, and fragrances to boost their inventory.
Upon executing the search warrant, law enforcement officers recovered thousands of items, suspecting them to be stolen, with their combined retail value hitting the $2.4 million mark, as per the Cook County Sheriff's Office. The involved store was not an accredited retailer for the items in question, prompting further verification of the goods' authenticity in concert with the respective manufacturers.
In addition to the merchandise, officers' discovery of five firearms along with multiple magazines, including an extended magazine a high-capacity drum magazine, and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition underscored the potential risk such illegal operations can pose to public safety. On the following day, felony charges were filed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office against store owner Darris Kelly and employee Jerry Walker.
According to the report from the Sheriff's website, Kelly is facing a Class 2 felony theft charge, Walker is charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 3 felony, and a Class 2 felony theft charge. After their court appearance on July 4, both men were released until their next scheduled court appearance on July 26.