COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A South Side man stole credit cards from women in Downtown hotels and used them to buy electronics, prosecutors said Thursday.
Kenneth Blake, 46, told police he memorized convention schedules so he could target people who wouldn't be in town for long, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a brief bond hearing.
Two of the three victims were from other states, a police report shows.
Blake was arrested Tuesday night after security guards at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, 2333 S. King Drive, spotted him near a Best Buy kiosk, Scaduto said.
According to a police report, Blake had been banned from the hotel after several pickpocket complaints. Police said Blake was carrying two women's drivers licenses and credit cards.
He used one of the women's cards to buy an iPod Touch and an iPad Mini with retina display, for a total of $519.98, the police report shows.
Both women had reported their purses stolen at the Palmer House Hilton, 7 E. Monroe St., earlier that night, according to Scaduto. Surveillance footage shows Blake swiping the bags at 8:38 p.m. and 8:44 p.m., police said.
One victim was an Illinois resident. The other was from Pennsylvania.
Prosecutors in court Thursday alleged Blake also was responsible for a Jan. 15 theft at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 W. Wacker Drive. In that case, a Louisiana woman reported two credit cards and cash missing from her bag.
According to Scaduto, Blake grabbed the woman's wallet from inside her purse, removed cash and credit cards, and placed the wallet back in the bag. He told the woman she should keep her purse on a hook after it fell on the ground, Scaduto said.
Blake, of the 6300 block of South Wolcott Avenue, was charged with felony theft, identity theft and unlawful possession of three or more credit cards. He also was hit with a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge for being on the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place property.
On Thursday, Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Blake held in lieu of $60,000 bail.
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