AG files charges in St. Clair County over alleged plan to resell $243K in stolen goods

Lexi Cortes
·2 min read
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The Illinois Attorney General’s office announced Friday it filed criminal charges against a 22-year-old Cahokia Heights man accused of possessing an estimated $243,000 worth of stolen merchandise from local retailers as part of an organized retail crime.

The stolen merchandise included power tools, electronics and lawn equipment, which the man allegedly purchased to resell, according to an Attorney General news release. It did not name the specific retailers where the merchandise came from.

Garrett R. Bass, of Cahokia Heights, faces the following charges:

  • Class 2 felony organized retail crime, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

  • Two counts of Class 1 felony theft, each punishable by up to 15 years in prison

  • Three counts of Class 2 felony theft, each punishable by up to seven years in prison.

  • Class 1 felony money laundering, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Bass’ felony arraignment took place Friday morning in St. Clair County court. Any plea he entered was not yet available in the court record as of Friday afternoon. His case is currently awaiting assignment to a trial judge, according to the circuit clerk’s office.

Attorney Benedict Y. Song, who is representing Bass, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

Bass has no previous charges in St. Clair County, online court records show.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in a news release the charges were the result of work by his office’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force. Through the task force, law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions have access to and investigate data and tips from retailers about thefts.

“The effects of organized retail crime are not limited to any one region of Illinois, particularly when the sales of stolen merchandise often fund additional criminal activity,” Raoul stated. “... Today’s charges demonstrate the importance of the collaborative work that my office’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force is doing to hold individuals accountable.”

Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Revenue were also involved in the investigation.