Toys R Us Employee Charged With Theft

ORLAND PARK, IL -- A Hazel Crest woman was arrested when it was discovered that she let unknown accomplices slip through her cashier line at the Orland Square Toys R Us by voiding out their purchases, prosecutors said. Ashley Ellis, 24, appeared before Cook County Judge Terry Gallagher on felony charges of theft and retail theft. Ellis has previous retail theft conviction from 2014.

Ellis was employed as a cashier at Toys R Us, 45 Orland Square Drive in Orland Park. Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 17, she was captured on video under ringing toy purchases for unknown accomplices by voiding out their transactions, the prosecutor said. The accomplices would leave the store with toys, paying her for her alleged chicanery. During the same period, Ellis is also reported to have taken store receipts from customers and return items in exchange for cash.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Ellis has three young children and lives with her mother in Hazel Crest. She said should come up with $400 bail.

The judge set bail at $4,000 with pretrial monitoring. Ellis’s next hearing is Jan. 22 in Bridgeview.