Chicago woman stole merchandise from Oak Brook Lululemon, led cops on high-speed chase, prosecutors say

A motion was granted Sunday to detain pre-trial a Chicago woman accused of stealing merchandise from the Oak Brook Lululemon store before leading police on a high-speed chase, prosecutors said.

Cartara Johnson, 21, of the 10600 block of S. Artesian Avenue, appeared at First Appearance Court charged with one count each of burglary, retail theft and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 2:30 p.m. Feb. 22, police patrolling the Oak Brook Mall saw a Hyundai Elantra with expired Indiana license plates enter the mall parking lot. Police saw an individual, later identified as Johnson, exit the vehicle, remove an empty or nearly empty Lululemon branded bag from the trunk and enter the mall, according to the release.

Johnson allegedly entered the Lululemon store, located at 82 Oakbrook Center, selected multiple leggings from the store and exited without paying for the merchandise. About 15 minutes later, Johnson allegedly returned to the Elantra with the same Lululemon bag, which now appeared full, authorities said.

Johnson got into the driver’s seat of the Elantra and exited the mall parking lot at which time police followed her in their squad car. Police saw Johnson swerve her vehicle multiple times before entering eastbound onto Interstate 88. Police followed Johnson onto I-88 and attempted to stop Johnson, according to the release.

Instead of pulling over, Johnson began to accelerate. Police continued pursuit reaching speeds of approximately 116 mph before terminating pursuit out of safety concerns. During the pursuit, Johnson drove onto the shoulder multiple times and swerved in and out of heavy traffic.

At approximately 2:41 p.m., police tracked the Elantra to North Riverside. With the assistance of a neighboring police department, police again attempted to pull over Johnson.

Instead of pulling over, Johnson drove onto a residential lawn and fled. A short time later, she and her vehicle were spotted by Stickney police Central Avenue and Interstate 55 after she crashed into construction equipment and attempted to flee on foot but was arrested, according to the release.

When searching the Elantra, police found the Lululemon bag Johnson allegedly brought into the store with her which contained multiple leggings valued at more than $300 with the price tags still attached, according to the release.

“It is alleged that Ms. Johnson, a woman currently on probation for retail theft, helped herself to merchandise from the Lululemon store and simply walked out the door without paying,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “To make matters worse, it is further alleged that she then led police on a dangerous, 116-mph chase in the middle of the afternoon on a busy shopping day in an effort to avoid apprehension. This type of blatant disregard for public safety and the rule of law will not be tolerated in DuPage County.”

“In the past week, five offenders have attempted to flee from the Oak Brook police and all five were apprehended,” Oak Brook Chief of Police Brian Strockis said in the release. “This is the result of a coordinated effort, effective tactics and a motivated team of highly-trained officers working toward the common goal of keeping Oak Brook safe. I’d like to thank all the agencies that assisted us with this case and so many others.”

Johnson’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 3.