A 26-year-old man was charged after investigators uncovered a warehouse on the Chicago’s West Side filled with $1 million worth of suspected stolen shoes, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.
Erick Lujano Bautista was allegedly subleasing a warehouse in the 1500 block of South Western Avenue, officials said. The sheriff’s department learned in January that a large number of shoes were being kept in that warehouse and, upon investigation, officials recovered about $1 million worth of Nike and New Balance shoes believed to have been stolen.
Lujano Bautista was not an authorized seller of the shoes, police said. He was charged with theft, a Class 1 felony. He has been released from custody pending trial. The shoe companies are continuing to work with officials to determine the status of the remaining items.
The sheriff’s department recovered $3.6 million worth of stolen merchandise last year. The latest operation will bring the “total amount of recovered stolen merchandise to over $4.5 million” in the last nine months, officials said.
A 26-year-old man was charged after investigators uncovered a warehouse on the city’s West Side filled with $1 million worth of suspected stolen shoes, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.
A 26-year-old man was charged after investigators uncovered a warehouse on the Chicago’s West Side filled with $1 million worth of suspected stolen shoes, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.
Erick Lujano Bautista was allegedly subleasing a warehouse in the 1500 block of South Western Avenue, officials said. The sheriff’s department learned in January that a large number of shoes were being kept in that warehouse and, upon investigation, officials recovered about $1 million worth of Nike and New Balance shoes believed to have been stolen.
Lujano Bautista was not an authorized seller of the shoes, police said. He was charged with theft, a Class 1 felony. He has been released from custody pending trial. The shoe companies are continuing to work with officials to determine the status of the remaining items.
The sheriff’s department recovered $3.6 million worth of stolen merchandise last year. The latest operation will bring the “total amount of recovered stolen merchandise to over $4.5 million” in the last nine months, officials said.
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