Chicago Lululemon theft: Men accused of stealing $9K in merchandise

CHICAGO - A Chicago man and a suburban man are facing felony charges after they allegedly took thousands of dollars in merchandise from a North Side Lululemon store.

The backstory:

The incident happened around 5:15 p.m. Sunday in the 3500 block of North Southport Avenue in the city's Lakeview neighborhood.

According to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, a Lululemon employee reported that two men got out of a Honda minivan, entered the store, filled bags with merchandise and left without paying.

Officers arriving at the scene spotted the suspects each carrying a bag. Both men reportedly ran but were taken into custody.

Christopher Slawek, 25, of Chicago was arrested in the 3500 block of North Greenview Avenue, while 51-year-old Michael Brown of Matteson was arrested in the 1400 block of West Addison Street.

Christopher Slawek and Michael Brown

Officials said the recovered bags contained 118 items from Lululemon with a combined value of $9,384.

Officers also located the minivan parked in the 3600 block of North Ashland Avenue. Inside, they found an additional $9,000 worth of merchandise from various retailers.

What's next:

Both men were charged with felony retail theft. Officials said Slawek also had outstanding warrants tied to retail theft cases in Cook, DuPage and Will counties.