Crime & Law
Chicago Man Charged in String of Burglaries at Shops, Stores and High-End Retailer
(WTTW News)
A Chicago man is facing several burglary charges after he allegedly participated in several smash-and-grab robberies in recent months at local shops, liquor stores and a high-end retailer, netting more than $150,000 in stolen goods, according to prosecutors.
Tacarre Harper, 27, has been charged with nine separate counts of burglary from incidents stemming between November 2021 and January 2022. He was ordered held on a $200,000 cash bail in this case during a hearing Tuesday, but because he had previous active warrants, he will be held without bail in those cases.
Prosecutors described Harper as an “integral part” to a burglary crew that allegedly struck numerous times, sometimes hitting multiple targets in the same night. In one case, Harper allegedly threw a brick through the front window of a closed GameStop, allowing him and others to go inside and steal video games and other items.
Harper and others also allegedly burglarized several liquor stores, often either breaking windows or using a bolt cutter to enter, before stealing alcohol, cash and sometimes entire cash registers, according to prosecutors.
But the biggest scores allegedly occurred at the Burberry store in the 600 block of North Michigan Avenue. Harper and others burglarized this store on two occasions — Jan. 4 and again Jan. 6 — making off with tens of thousands of dollars of high-end purses, handbags, shoes and coats from displays, prosecutors said.
During the same night of the second Burberry burglary, Harper and others also allegedly stole a cash register and other items from Belmont Liquor at 401 W. Belmont Ave. Those items were loaded into a Dodge Ram, which prosecutors said was later seen dumping the register and other items onto the street outside the home of a “prominent Illinois politician.”
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, that home belongs to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Harper was arrested Monday by the Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force. In speaking with investigators, he allegedly admitted to several of the burglaries and identified himself and others in still photos taken from surveillance cameras during the incidents.
“The defendant … is an integral part of a burglary crew that has shaken the confidence of the community at large, as well as business owners who operate in the community,” Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis said during Tuesday’s hearing. “In addition, the defendant’s actions are reckless in nature and wreaked havoc across the community.”
Police Superintendent David Brown called Harper the “ringleader” of this burglary crew, adding that he is also suspected in dozens of additional burglaries of electronics, clothes and liquor in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
Brown — who was joined by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx for a press conference Tuesday afternoon — called Harper’s arrest “satisfying to a certain extent,” but added that his department is still actively pursuing multiple other suspects tied to these crimes.
“Chicago is not a lawless city and you will be brought to justice and charged to the fullest extent of the law,” he said. “We want to make that clear to you, that we’re working together to ensure that happens.”
Harper is due back in court for a hearing Feb. 16.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
