A Venezuelan migrant faces prosecution after reportedly attempting to sneak two cartons of rifle ammo into a city-run shelter. This is his second arrest since December. Meanwhile, another “new neighbor” in Chicago has been accused of felony retail theft at Macy’s twice this month.
The ammo arrest occurred at the former Wadsworth Elementary School, 6420 South University, which is now one of the city’s migrant shelters. In November, one migrant was shot following a confrontation with another outside the shelter.
A shelter manager called police after Luis Jose Linarez-Nunez triggered the metal detector while entering the building about 11 a.m. on February 22, according to a Chicago police report.
Staff discovered a box carrying 20.22-caliber rifle ammunition in his waistband and another box holding 20 rounds in his trousers pocket, according to the report.
He is accused of misdemeanor possession of ammunition without a license.
Linarez-Nunez was AWOL at the time due to a misdemeanor shoplifting arrest he received on December 16 near the Mag Mile. Nordstrom Rack staff reported seeing a man take a rucksack off the shelf, stuff it with four items, and walk out.
When he failed to appear in court on January 16, a judge issued an arrest order for him. He has been jailed since his arrest at the shelter. This may change when he goes before the judge in the shoplifting charge on Tuesday.
Will you repeat your performance?
It is not easy to get charged with felony retail theft in Cook County. But Samuel Castro-Yanez, a 19-year-old Venezuelan migrant residing at the Standard Club shelter in the Loop, was able to do it twice in February.
Both arrests happened at Macy’s on 111 North State.
Loss prevention officers apprehended Castro-Yanez on February 7 after he stole a shopping bag from an unattended register and stuffed it with $1,139 in apparel, according to a sheriff’s report.
According to the allegation, he allegedly grabbed a pair of Nautica swimming trunks and shirts, as well as trousers, jeans, and other Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger clothes.
Judge Kelly McCarthy released him the next day.
According to a second sheriff’s office report, he returned to Macy’s with a partner on February 23. According to the investigation, the men snatched a shopping bag from an unsecured sales area and filled it with $1,370 worth of apparel, mostly t-shirts.
The males allegedly informed sheriff’s officers that they “needed clothes for themselves.”
Judge Robert Kuzas granted the state’s pretrial release revocation petition in the first shoplifting case, and Castro-Yanez was released on Monday.