Police arrest man suspected of many Meijer thefts

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Updated: March 6, 2012 8:14AM

AURORA — A man accused of shoplifting in Aurora has been charged with stealing from Bolingbrook Meijer stores.

At 6:38 p.m. Tuesday, police arrested David Morelock, 25, of Downers Grove, on a charge of misdemeanor retail theft at the Meijer store at 808 N. Route 59 in Aurora.

Store security officers allegedly spotted Morelock try to steal $11,422 worth of items — including prescription drugs, cashews, cheesecake, and and Cheetos.

Morelock reportedly told police that if he’d known they were going to arrest him, he would have run.

Morelock also faces charges for allegedly stealing:

$301 worth of items from a Bolingbrook Meijer on Jan. 27

$1,185 worth of items from the same Meijer on Jan. 28

$1,449 worth of items from another Bolingbrook Meijer on Sunday

Police said he also is a suspect in other thefts from Meijer stores across the region, including Des Plaines.

He has been charged with theft or retail theft in Chicago on Nov. 25 and Dec. 11, 2011, and on Jan. 6, 21 and 25, police said.

DuPage County prosecutors would not authorize felony charges against Morelock in the Tuesday incident because officers stopped him before he removed the items from the store, police said.