By Bob Bong
Two Chicago men have been charged with a burglary in October at the Von Maur department store at Orland Square Mall.
Clifford Fields, 32, and Jerrod Brim, 29, both of Chicago, were arrested this month in connection with the October 21 burglary, police said.
Orland Park police said they responded to a report of a burglary at the store on October 21. They said that about 10:30 a.m., two men wearing black clothing, gloves and masks entered the store. One was holding a baseball bat and the other a pair of bolt cutters.
The men proceeded to smash display cases containing high-valued purses. The men then ran out of the store and fled from the parking in a vehicle reported stolen out of Chicago. The total retail value of the stolen items was over $33,000.
The bolt cutters and baseball bat were left in the store by the men and were processed and swabbed for
DNA, which was subsequently entered into the State of Illinois Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
In late 2023, the Orland Park Police Department received Illinois State Police Lab Reports that identified the DNA on the bolt cutter as belonging to Clifford Fields and Jerrod Brim. Both men had prior arrests for similar type offenses, police said.
Investigators learned that Brim was scheduled to appear in court on January 8 on an unrelated theft case. Investigators located and took Brim into custody following his court case at 2600 California. Brim was charged with one count of Commercial Burglary (Class 2 Felony).
On January 17, Fields turned himself in to the Orland Park Police Department where he was also charged with Commercial Burglary.
