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A team of Chicago police officers have arrested a Belmont Cragin man for questioning in connection with recent thefts of cigarettes from Walgreens stores across the North Side and downtown, according to a source. For nearly two months, Walgreens stores across the city have lost tens of thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes to two men who’ve conducted similar thefts.
The man, identified as 33-year-old Kendrick Archibald, has not yet been charged with any wrongdoing. He is, however, on bail while awaiting trial for burglary charges for allegedly stealing cigarettes from behind the counter of a Walgreens in Grundy County.
Grundy County records show Archibald and another man, Lance Harris, face felony burglary charges for allegedly loading cigarettes into black trash bags during a daytime raid at a Morris, Illinois, Walgreens in July 2020.
Archibald rose to the top of CPD’s list of suspects in the local Walgreens thefts after investigators learned that a car linked to the thefts is registered to another person at his home address, according to a source and CPD incident reports.
Police arrested him for questioning around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, one day after two thieves filled a black trash bag and a shopping basket with cigarettes at a Walgreens in Norwood Park. A customer recorded that theft on his phone.