Elmhurst Lottery Ticket Suspect Charged

ELMHURST, IL – A man is accused of stealing lottery tickets from stores in Elmhurst and other suburbs.

Yonas Beyene, 37, of Wheaton, was jailed after he was arrested Friday, DuPage County prosecutors said in a news release.

Late the night of Dec. 21, a clerk at 7-Eleven at 155 E. First St. in Elmhurst let Beyene stay in the store to warm up and charge his phone while waiting for a ride, police said.

When the clerk went into the cooler about 2½ hours later, Beyene reached into the lottery display, stole about $730 worth of scratch-off tickets and left the store, police said.

An investigation revealed that Beyene had stolen lottery tickets in stores in Addison, Winfield, Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Oakbrook Terrace and Lombard, prosecutors said. He had three outstanding warrants charging him with such thefts.

On Friday, Elmhurst police found Beyene at a Villa Park motel. While watching the motel, Villa Park officers saw Beyene leave in a taxi, which is when police stopped him.

He was charged with the felonies of continuing financial crimes enterprise, burglary and retail theft, police said.

"In this case, it is alleged that Mr. Beyene first befriended an unsuspecting store clerk and then stole lottery tickets when the clerk briefly went to a back cooler," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "This type of chronic victimization of our retail establishments will not be tolerated in DuPage County."