Man arrested after attempted theft at Evanston CVS, charged with four offenses

Yvonne Kim, Reporter

A 47-year-old man was arrested Saturday afternoon in connection with attempting to steal a wallet from a shopper at a CVS store in Evanston.

A 43-year-old Glenview resident said she confronted the man now identified as Elmo S. Hatfield after he took her wallet from the purse in her shopping cart, Evanston police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan said. The attempted theft was also caught on video footage.

Police were dispatched to Central Street by the CVS Store after the event occurred at approximately 12:15 p.m.

Dugan said the officer who responded to the call followed Hatfield on a foot chase from the 2300 block of Lawndale Avenue. Hatfield injured the officer during the chase by closing a gate on his arm, Dugan said.

The officer deployed his Taser after Hatfield pushed him in the chest, but Hatfield eventually removed the probes and continued fleeing, Dugan said. He eventually took Hatfield into custody in the 2200 block of Central Park Avenue.

Hatfield was charged with four offenses on counts of theft, aggravated assault, resisting a police officer and disobedience to police in public place.

Dugan added that Hatfield has a history of past arrests and is currently on parole. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Hatfield’s next court date is scheduled for July 13.

E-mail: [email protected]
Twitter: @yvonneekimm