Man allegedly stole $56K in watches on Mag Mile
A convicted felon allegedly stole over $56,000 worth of vintage watches from the Ralph Lauren store on the Magnificent Mile last month, just hours before he was arrested for an earlier hammer attack at Mother Hubbard’s bar in River North.
Anthony M. Strozier, 31, was taken into custody Monday and charged with a felony count of theft in the July 25 heist at the high-end shop at 750 N. Michigan Ave., according to Chicago police and Cook County court records.
At Strozier’s court hearing Monday, prosecutors said he was caught on surveillance video donning a suit and tie around 5:45 p.m. and using bolt cutters to break into a jewelry case. He took four watches valued at $56,150, prosecutors said.
Video from neighboring businesses showed Strozier entering the Peninsula hotel at 108 E. Superior St., prosecutors said. He left with a suitcase and traveled to a storage facility in River North that belonged to his girlfriend.
During the investigation, detectives learned Strozier had been arrested in another case that same day. Around 10:10 p.m., he went to Mother Hubbard’s at 5 W. Hubbard St., and an employee there identified him as the person who pepper-sprayed him and hit him in the face with a claw hammer on June 16, according to court records.
Strozier was arrested and charged with the attack, then released from Cook County Jail on July 29 after putting up a $2,000 deposit. The detective in that case identified Strozier from images from the Ralph Lauren store, prosecutors said.
On Aug. 2, detectives searched the storage unit and found bolt cutters, two watches and a suitcase, prosecutors said. When he was taken into custody Monday, he allegedly asked “what he would get if he gave the watches back.”
Strozier has been arrested multiple times and convicted of a felony count of retail theft, according to prosecutors.
Judge Susana L. Ortiz set his bail at $10,000, meaning Strozier will have to pay $1,000 to be released. If released, he’ll have an electronic monitoring device.