Suspected Chicago looter busted trying to sell $2,700 sweater to undercover cops
Undercover cops busted a suspected looter in Chicago, after he tried to sell them a $2,700 designer sweater, according to a report.
Melvin Banks, 29, advertised the Brunello Cucinelli swag for sale online, which was seen by a staffer at the Italian luxury brand’s looted Windy City store, prosecutors said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Banks was arrested after undercover cops arranged to pay $800 for the stolen item — one that clearly impressed the judge at his first court hearing Wednesday, the paper noted.
“I don’t know how a $2,000 sweater feels, but it must be immaculate,” Cook County Judge John Lyke Jr. told the hearing, according to the report.
It “feels very, very soft, I’m certain. But that’s a little too rich for my blood,” the judge insisted.
Banks — a dad of three who lives with his parents — told police he was asleep during the Aug. 10 looting, prosecutors said.
He claimed he got it for free from his girlfriend — but she gave a conflicting story about them being out of town at the time and getting it from a cousin, the report said.
Banks was held on $2,000 bail, but kept overnight for a pending drug charge for which he was out on bond, the Sun-Times said.
He is not the only accused looter with swanky swag. Mom of four Gabrielle McGriff was charged Tuesday with selling a pair of $1,400 boots also stolen from the Brunello Cucinelli store, the paper said.
The looting devastated Chicago last week, sparked by false reports about the officer-involved shooting of Latrell Allen, who police say was only hit after he fired at two officers while trying to flee arrest.
Photo Credit: nypost.com