A Wheaton man was denied pretrial release Saturday following his arrest Friday on charges of stealing lottery tickets from convenience stores throughout DuPage County.
Yonas Beyene, 37, of the 2000 block of West Roosevelt Road, made his initial court appearance after being charged with felony counts of continuing financial crimes enterprise, burglary and retail theft. Authorities said Beyene is a suspect in the theft of lottery tickets over the past three months in Elmhurst, Addison, Winfield, Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Oakbrook Terrace and Lombard. Before his arrest Friday in Villa Park, he had three outstanding warrants for theft of lottery tickets, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
In the most recent case, Elmhurst police said the suspect took $730 worth of scratch-off tickets from two containers at the 7-Eleven store at 155 E. First St. at 1:47 a.m. Dec. 22. Police said he entered the store two and a half hours prior, when the store clerk allowed him to remain inside so he could warm up and charge his phone while waiting for a ride.
When the clerk went into the cooler, Beyene reached around to the lottery display, then left with the tickets, DuPage County prosecutors said.
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