5 Chicago migrant boys stole from Oak Brook mall, one had large knife while another threw a punch: prosecutors

DUPAGE COUNTY - Five juveniles, all identified as Venezuelan migrants from Chicago, are facing felony charges in connection with two separate retail thefts at Oakbrook Center shopping mall, authorities announced Tuesday.

What we know:

The five boys were charged after incidents at Nordstrom and Macy’s on May 5, according to prosecutors.

Around 3 p.m., Oak Brook police responded to a theft at Nordstrom involving three juveniles. Authorities say one entered a fitting room while the others passed him clothing items. When they tried to leave, a loss prevention officer — who had noticed a $138 item was missing from the store — confronted them. A physical altercation followed, during which one of the juveniles allegedly threw a punch. All three fled into the mall but were arrested after a short foot chase.

In the incident at Macy’s, around 3:42 p.m., police say two juveniles entered the store and selected six items of clothing worth more than $300. They allegedly entered a fitting room, removed the security tags, and walked out without paying. Officers stopped them outside and found a thirteen-inch kitchen knife—with an eight-inch blade—in the waistband of one of the boys, according to police.

What they're saying:

"In DuPage County, we will not stand for the type of behavior alleged against these defendants… What I find particularly troubling is the allegation that in one of the incidents, one of the accused armed himself with a thirteen-inch knife. Thankfully, no one was injured," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said.

"These five illegal migrants came to Oak Brook with criminal intentions and they were met with a large scale police response to bring them to justice," Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis added. "The offenders believed they could outrun the police and one was armed with a large knife. They found out that our officers are well prepared for any incident they encounter and we will continue to proactively police our borders."

What's next:

All five juveniles are charged with burglary, a Class 2 felony.

The group of three are also charged with robbery (Class 2 felony), resisting a police officer (misdemeanor), and retail theft (misdemeanor), while one of them faces an additional count of assault (misdemeanor).

The group of two are also charged with retail theft (Class 3 felony), while one of them faces a count of armed violence (Class X felony) and resisting a police officer (misdemeanor).

A judge on Tuesday ordered three of the five juveniles detained.