Burglary and retail theft charges were filed Jan. 24 against six individuals accused of stealing merchandise from the Oak Brook Macy’s store in two unrelated incidents, prosecutors said.

Two of the male offenders, Chilean migrants staying in Chicago, appeared in DuPage County First Appearance Court where Judge Joshua Dieden denied the state’s motion to detain the defendants pretrial, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

In an unrelated incident, four Venezuelan migrants – two men and two women – who are staying in Countryside also appeared at First Appearance Court where a motion to detain the defendants pretrial was denied, according to the release.

All six defendants are charged with one count of burglary and one count of retail theft, according to the release.

About 6:28 p.m. Jan. 23, Oak Brook police responded to a report of a retail theft at Macy’s, located at 1 Oakbrook Center.

Two of the offenders allegedly entered the store and began removing anti-theft devices from merchandise using a magnet they brought with them. The two then placed 54 items worth about $10,155 into two suitcases they obtained from the luggage department. The pair left the store without paying for the items and were met by Oak Brook police, according to release.

About five hours earlier, Oak Brook police had responded to a retail theft report at Macy’s. Four offenders entered Macy’s and went to the Tommy Hilfiger section where two of the individuals allegedly selected merchandise and took it to the second floor.

The two females selected shoes and entered a fitting room and exited wearing the merchandise. The four defendants allegedly left the store without paying for the items, valued at about $928, but were met by a loss prevention officer, according to the release.

“I want to assure the public that in DuPage County we are 100% committed to protecting our retail establishments, their employees and patrons,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “The arrest and prosecution of these six defendants once again sends the clear message that if people continue to steal, my office will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold them accountable. Contrary to popular belief, retail theft is not a victimless crime, causing significant financial hardship to businesses and their employees, which results in higher prices for shoppers and loss of investment and tax revenue for entire communities.”

“I believe that six felony arrests in one day illustrates that migrant criminal activity is a real problem,” Oak Brook Chief of Police Brian Strockis said in the release. “The amount of these types of arrests that we have had in the last couple of months is significant and would be taxing for any police department. We are well-prepared to continue our enforcement efforts and I can assure you that there are easier places to commit these crimes than Oak Brook or DuPage County.”