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Maywood man, 'ringleader' of smash-and-grab crew charged with recent burglaries
He was arrested with just $5 in his pocket, but police say Tacarre Harper headed a crew that made off with $175,000 in merchandise in at least nine smash-and-grab burglaries in recent months, even tossing cash registers on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Gold Coast street between heists.
CHICAGO - The Chicago Police Department has announced the arrest of a man they describe as the ringleader of an organized retail theft operation in the city.
During a news conference Tuesday, Chicago’s top cop said more arrests are coming.
"We are not just going to let you get away with these crimes. Chicago is not a lawless city," said Superintendent David Brown, Chicago Police Department.
On Monday, 27-year-old Tecarre Harper of Maywood was arrested in the 600 block of N. LeClaire Avenue. He has been charged with nine counts of felony burglary.
Police describe Harper as a "prolific criminal" and said he has been targeting stores for months.
Tacarre Harper | Chicago Police Department
"The idea that Chicago is a lawless city – that narrative is as wrong as four flat tires and a bad transmission," said Brown.
Brown said Harper has been terrorizing businesses throughout the city since November 2021 in a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries worth an estimated $175,000.
"He is also suspected in dozens of other burglaries involving liquor, electronics and clothes across Chicago and surrounding suburbs," said Brown. "Harper, at the time of his arrest, had four active warrants for his arrest. Three in Cook County and one in Lake County."
Brown said Harper is responsible for two separate break-ins at Burberry on Michigan Avenue in early January – where $150,000 dollars in luxury products were stolen.
Shortly before the second burglary at Burberry, prosecutors said the crew hit two Lake View markets before winding up on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Gold Coast block, where a private surveillance camera caught four of them dumping cash registers and other items.
Harper was taken into custody after Chicago police officers, working with U.S. marshals and the Great Lakes Regional Task Force, identified a Hyundai Genesis while doing surveillance in the 600 block of North Leclaire, a police report states. He fled but was eventually arrested with just $5 on him.
Now, Brown and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said they are going after Harper’s ‘crew.’
"Because of the strength of this collaboration, we will be able to apprehend you and prosecute you to the extent of the law," said Foxx.
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Cook County court records show Harper has an extensive criminal history, and prosecutors noted he was sought on four separate warrants.
One was signed last month when Harper failed to appear for a hearing in a 2021 burglary case out of Chicago, court records show. He also has a pending gun case from later that year for which he was on bond, as well as pending robbery and identity theft charges from 2019.
In addition, prosecutors said he was wanted on a warrant out of Lake County in a felony fleeing an eluding case.
Harper was most recently given a one-day sentence for a 2019 retail theft charge from Melrose Park, court records show. And in 2016, he was charged with criminal trespass and given a two-day sentence
He also pleaded guilty in 2014 to aggravated battery, getting a two-year prison sentence. A year earlier, he was sentenced to another year in prison and probation in separate drug cases.
Jeremy Lemmons, Harper’s public defender, described his client as a working father of three young children who lives with his mother, goes to church and has been diagnosed with unspecified mental health conditions and "physical ailments."
Lemmons claimed Harper has no history of violence while requesting a "reasonable" bond amount.
Judge Mary Marubio, however, noted that aggravated battery is a violent offense. She also pointed to the warrants and recent bond violation before giving Harper a cash bail of $200,000 — roughly the "full amount of lost proceeds."
Harper is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in the prior cases, then on Feb. 16 on the new charges.
This comes as Illinois State's Attorney Kwame Raoul announced a partnership with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA) to introduce a proposal that would fight organized retail crime by giving prosecutors additional tools to hold criminals accountable.
"So many people think it’s just a retail theft. It is far more than that. It has tentacles that spread into other areas. Weapons, human trafficking, illegal drugs – something we’re all victims of and need to address," said Rob Karr, IRMA president and CEO.
The proposal would allow prosecutors to charge criminals for the whole crime, even if aspects of the crime – for example, the sale of stolen items – were committed in other jurisdictions.
Karr said it would "change and address loopholes in the criminal code that thieves use to exploit the weaknesses."
Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.