CHICAGO — Prosecutors this week charged a Chicago man with eight felony counts of shoplifting, saying he repeatedly shoplifted from the same Lakeview store in August and September. But none of the alleged thefts involved property worth more than $300, the legal threshold for felony charges in Illinois.
Instead, the Cook County Prosecutor’s Office charged 25-year-old Maxwell Antonian with felonies under a provision of state law that allows charges against people with prior theft-related convictions to be upgraded.
The number of misdemeanor shoplifting cases upgraded to misdemeanors due to prior convictions collapsed after Kim Foxx became the county’s attorney in December 2016. Foxx also ordered her staff not to file misdemeanor charges unless the amount of property stolen exceeded $1,000 or the suspect did so. 10 or more previous convictions.
But it appears Eileen O’Neill Burke, who replaced Foxx on December 1, is once again enforcing the state laws as they are written. Prosecutors charged 151 people with shoplifting last year based on prior convictions, but 32 cases — 21% of the annual total — were filed after O’Neill Burke came to power.
Antonian, charged with eight shoplifting counts at Marshall’s, 3131 North Clark, is on the receiving end of the policy overhaul.
Prosecutors say he shoplifted from the store on August 5, 6 and 16; twice on August 17; twice on August 27; and again on September 2. The value of the items taken during the thefts ranged from $80 to $225, according to his CPD arrest report.
Officers working New Year’s Eve in Wrigleyville arrested Maxwell when he walked right in front of their police car, the report said. The officers recognized him from previous incidents.
And there were plenty of incidents. Maxwell was arrested seven times in Chicago between June 27 and September 22.
On September 12, he was accused of shoplifting $410 worth of sunglasses from Neiman Marcus on the Mag Mile. But according to court records, prosecutors who worked under Foxx charged him only with a crime.
Ten days later, he was charged with reckless endangerment for allegedly preventing people from entering the Town Hall (19th) District police station, 850 West Addison, and breaking bottles by throwing them against the station entrance.
On July 3, he was charged with shoplifting from a Circle K at 801 West Addison.
Later that month, he was accused of telling a passerby outside the City Hall station that he would “kick your ass” and “blow your head off,” according to a CPD report.
His first arrest this summer was at the Target store, 4466 North Broadway. Store security accused him of stealing $155 worth of clothing and bags.
Ultimately, on October 2, Maxwell was given a 200-day prison sentence to put all these cases behind him. Prosecutors dropped charges in connection with three other arrests.
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