Two Charged in Connection with Purse and Wallet Theft Ring

Two people have been charged in connection with a theft ring that is believed to be responsible for 10 purse and wallet snatchings in La Grange Park over the past six months.

Alphera Sullivan, 56, of the 900 block of Shenandoah in Rockford, and Keith Pierce, 47, of the 3900 block of South Langley in Chicago, were arrested Thursday in Hillside and held at the La Grange Park Police Department, according to a press release.

A cashier at Target, 130 S. Mannheim Rd. in Hillside, called police after the pair tried to pay with a suspicious check, the release said. Officers were already in the lot monitoring them.

Sullivan was charged with continuing a financial enterprise, a Class 1 felony, and money laundering, a Class 2 felony, for incidents that occurred in Rockford, West Dundee, South Barrington and Westchester.

Pierce was charged with identity theft, a Class 2 felony, in connection with a Hoffman Estates incident.

A task force of officers from several communities, including La Grange and La Grange Park, believe Sullivan and Pierce are part of a theft ring that has been stealing unattended purses and wallets. The thefts have occurred at restaurants and grocery stores stretching from the Chicago suburbs to St. Louis, MO.

The group members have used credit cards and checks from the stolen purses and wallets to make as much as $150,000 in purchases in recent weeks, police said.

Sullivan faces up to 22 years in prison if convicted on both charges, police said. Pierce’s charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

The pair has an April 13 court date. Bond was set at $250,000.

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