Chicago Man Tells Walgreens Worker He Has HIV Before Jabbing Him In Face With Syringe: Police

A Chicago man told a Romeoville Walgreens worker he was infected with HIV before jabbing him in the face with a syringe, police said.

The worker and a manager of the 498 N. Weber Road store interrupted the jabber and his partner in crime while they were stealing hundreds of dollars worth of cosmetics on Christmas Eve, police said.

A customer first spotted Jose Pagan, 32, and Nelson Rivera, 33, stuffing cosmetics into their clothes and alerted the manager, police said. The manager reportedly enlisted the help of an employee and they went to confront Pagan and Rivera.

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The two men tried to dump the cosmetics and run, police said, but the worker grabbed hold of Pagan’s arm. That was when Pagan claimed to have HIV and thrust at the worker’s face with the syringe, police said.

The needle did not seem to break the worker’s skin but Pagan and Rivera still managed to escape, police said. They were last seen dashing across Weber Road.

While the worker let go of Pagan when he was hit with the needle, he still held onto the crook’s coat, police said, and officers found Pagan’s cell phone in one of its pockets. Police said they used the cell phone to identify Pagan and Rivera.

The two men remain at large. Police said they live at 4321 S. Wolcott Ave.

Pagan and Rivera were charged with burglary and retail theft. Pagan was also hit with one count of aggravated battery.

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