3 Aurora residents plead not guilty in Ogle County court yesterday following 2 retail theft incidents which took place last month at the Walmart store in Rochelle.
32-year old Jesus Garcia, his sister, 27-year old Diana Garcia, along with 20-year old Melisa Lazcano have been charged with 2 counts of the felony offense of retail theft.
Rochelle police say that the 3 were allegedly involved with a theft at Walmart on September 12th. Stolen from the store were DVD's, video games, laptops, and a home security system.
They were arrested leaving the store on September 26th with several thousand dollars of merchandise they were trying to steal for a 2nd time.
Police and store officials had pictures of the 3 suspects along with the car they were driving during the 1st retail theft. Both incidents took place during the early morning hours.
The Garcia's along with Lazcano waived their preliminary hearings yesterday and demanded a jury trial. They return to Ogle County court on November 13th for a pre-trial conference.
Diana Garcia and Lazcano are out of jail following the posting of a $30,000 bond. Jesus Garcia remains in jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond.
Local police say that the 3 were allegedly involved in multiple retail thefts which took place in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Charges are pending in other area counties.
