Four Chicago men have been charged with a 2014 “smash and grab” burglary where a vehicle was driven through the front of a store at the Chicago Premium Outlets Mall in Aurora.
James Erwin, 32; Santez Yerger, 27; Hershel Phillips, 18, and Princeton Jackson, 25, are all charged with one count of felony burglary in connection with the Nov. 4, 2014, incident at Salvatore Ferragamo, 1600 block of Premium Outlets Boulevard.
Aurora police said both Erwin and Yerger are at large while Phillips and Jackson are in custody in Chicago.
According to police, officers were alerted to the burglary around 4:30 a.m. Nov. 4 after an alarm at the store went off. Responding officers located a stolen Dodge Grand Caravan with heavy front-end damage parked on Premium Outlets Boulevard. The vehicle’s doors were open and several purses were laying inside and outside the vehicle, Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. When additional officers went to the mall to investigate, they found the Ferragamo store entrance smashed-in.
Ferrelli said that pictures taken from security cameras showed at least four people loading thousands of dollars worth of items from the store into the vehicle after it smashed through the store’s front window.
Police said the burglars were able to back the Caravan out of the store, transfer approximately $56,000 worth of merchandise into another vehicle, and drive off before police arrived.
Ferrelli said that the FBI, along with Chicago, Northbrook, and Oak Brook police, all of which investigated similar burglaries, assisted Aurora police in its investigation.
Detectives believe there may be additional suspects involved and have not ruled out further charges.
Anyone with information on Erwin or Yerger is asked to call Aurora Police Investigations at 630-256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000.
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