Paroled Shoplifter Forces Way Out of Store With Knife: Prosecutor

Daniel Smith, 35 | Cook County Sheriff

A paroled shoplifter pulled a knife on an employee who tried to stop him from stealing a power tool kit at a home improvement store, prosecutors said.

Daniel Smith, 35, appeared before Cook County Associate Judge John Hynes on a Class X felony charge of armed robbery.

According to the charges, Smith entered Home Depot, 300 Commons Drive, Chicago Ridge, around 10 p.m. March 7.

Smith proceeded through the store to the hardware department where he is said to have picked up a Milwaukee Power Tool Combo Kit.

Prosecutors said Smith walked past the cash registers with the stolen merchandise. When he was confronted by an employee who asked to see a receipt, Smith produced a 9-inch knife.

Smith allegedly pointed the knife at the employee and forced his way out of the store, where he was stopped and detained in the parking lot by two loss prevention officers.

Officers were able to recover the knife that Smith dropped in the parking lot, prosecutors said.

Smith is currently out on parole for a 2013 retail theft where he was sentenced to two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Bail was set at $250,000. Smith’s next court hearing is April 5 in Bridgeview.