Bond set at $50,000 for Chicago woman charged with burglary, retail theft from Oak Brook Neiman Marcus

Bond was set at $50,000 Sunday for a Chicago woman accused of stealing more than $17,000 worth of merchandise from the Neiman Marcus store in Oak Brook.

Terri Collins, 21, of the 100 block of West 110th Street, appeared in Bond Court yesterday morning where Judge Leah Bendik has been charged with one count of burglary and one count of retail theft, according to DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

On Feb. 5, at approximately 2:54 p.m., Collins, along with several other individuals, entered the store and met up with two males who were already in the store. Collins and the individuals with whom she entered the store, along with the two males who were previously in the store, allegedly went to a coat section of the store.

Collins and the others cut the security wires off numerous Monclear coats and ran toward the store’s exit. As Collins and the other individuals attempted to leave the store, a loss prevention officer knocked the items out of Collins’ hands, including coats and a pair of wire cutters. She was detained at the scene while all the other individuals were able to flee prior to the arrival of Oak Brook police. Additional coats were found outside the store.

“Smash-and-grab thefts involving multiple individuals are not a crime of opportunity,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “They are well organized by those who resort to violence and sheer numbers to commit their crimes. The allegations that this defendant, along with several others, entered a retail store in the middle of the afternoon intent on stealing merchandise will not be tolerated in DuPage County and will be met with the full force of the law. As I have said many times before, public safety is our top priority in DuPage County, and anyone who commits this type of violent forcible felony will be caught, prosecuted and, if found guilty, face significant consequences.”

“This type of activity is reprehensible and places everyone at increased risk,” Oak Brook Interim Chief of Police John Krull said in the release. “The Oak Brook Police Department working in partnership with our retailers and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office remain committed to providing a safe environment for all. These types of incidents will not be tolerated in Oak Brook or anywhere in DuPage County and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Collins’ next court appearance is scheduled for March 7 for arraignment.