Kids Left Alone in Running Car While Parents Swiped Crest Whitening Strips: Cops

Brianna Smith and Anton Neely | Cook County Sheriff

Oak Lawn, IL, May 9, 2016 -- Two parents were nabbed in a parking lot outside the Oak Lawn Kmart store after police said they stole hundreds of dollars worth of Crest Whitening strips.

Brianna Smith, 19, of Chicago, and Anton Neely, 21, of Dolton, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice where each was charged with felony retail theft and misdemeanor child endangerment.

The prosecutor said that Smith and Neely went to Kmart, 4101 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, around 1:30 p.m. May 5.

Both were spotted on store surveillance cameras allegedly taking eight boxes of Crest whitening strips valued at $483.92 and then leaving the store.

The prosecutor said that Neely and Smith returned to the store around 9:30 p.m. where they went to the same aisle to re-supply.

Store security confronted them in the parking lot with about $439 worth of whitening strips. The couple’s children, both under the age of six, were found alone in the coupe’s car with the engine running, the prosecutor said.

Oak Lawn police said the children were left in the car for 30 minutes.

“That’s worse than the alleged retail theft,” Judge Felice said.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Smith is enrolled in an alternative high school and is expected to graduate in June.

Smith is currently on supervision for another retail theft case, the prosecutor said.

The judge set Smith’s bail for violation of supervision at $5,000, and $15,000 for the new charge.

Neely’s bail was set at $30,000.

Both are due back in court on May 24 in Bridgeview. The judge said he’d may consider then putting Smith on electronic home monitoring.

Thefts of teeth whitening strips are reportedly on the rise due to their resale value, according to news reports.