Man With 3 Warrants Nabbed Upon Return To Scene Of Winnetka Crime

WINNETKA, IL — A Chicago man with a lengthy criminal record and three active arrest warrants was arrested Wednesday after he returned to the Winnetka shop where he had stolen clothes the prior day, authorities said.

Tremell Brown, 37, was charged with felony retail theft after staff at KMK Luxury Consignment identified him as the shoplifter who stole a fur coat worth $3,859 on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

"An employee of the store saw a hanger drop to the ground near where [Brown] was standing," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jenna Reinhardt said Thursday at his initial court appearance. "She also observed a large bulge under [Brown's] coat and noticed that a fur coat from the rack was missing."

Brown then got into a waiting car and left, Reinhardt said. But the next day, he returned to the shop at 530 Green Bay Road.

The store's owner and clerk recognized him from the day before and got into a "verbal confrontation" with him, according to the prosecutor.

After he left, they called police and gave a description of the car he was a passenger in — a green pickup truck with no license plates — and police pulled him over and took him into custody.

Reinhardt said Brown has 12 felony convictions dating back nearly two decades, as well as several misdemeanors. None are violent, and nearly all of them are for retail theft. Most recently, he was sentenced to 18 months in state prison for a 2019 incident.

---

Brown also had active arrest warrants stemming from theft allegations in DuPage County, Kane County and Lake County, Indiana, the prosecutor told Cook County Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese.

The judge said Brown appeared to be a professional thief and noted that he is accused of victimizing a small mom-and-pop business.

"Setting jailtime after jailtime does not seem to have decreased the defendant's willingness to commit crimes such as these, sadly," Calabrese said, ordering that Brown be held ahead of trial unless he can come up with $10,000 cash.

Before the judge determined the terms of his bail, Brown told him he would be unable to post any cash for his bond.

"I don't have any money, at all," Brown said.

"Alright," Calabrese said. "Well, difficult circumstance, in that regard."

Brown is due back in court Feb. 4 for a bond review hearing.