Bartlett man gets 13 years for perfume thefts

A Bartlett man with a three-decade felony history has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for stealing $3,000 in perfume and cologne from a St. Charles business in late 2015 and early 2016.

David A. Neal, 49, was convicted of two counts of felony burglary and two counts of felony retail theft after a bench trial before Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler in January.

Tegeler sentenced Neal on Friday. Neal had been to prison 10 previous times and was charged with his first felony in the late 1980s.

According to prosecutors, Neal entered a large department store on the 800 block of South Randall Road in St. Charles around 1:20 a.m. Dec. 10, 2015, wearing a cap and sunglasses. He put 40 bottles of men's cologne and women's perfume into a cart and then into white shopping bags and left with out paying for the estimated $1,900 in merchandise.

Neal returned to the store Jan. 24, 2016, and stole 14 bottles of women's perfume valued at $1,100 in the same manner as in December 2015 theft, authorities said.

Both thefts were caught on video surveillance, prosecutors said.

Neal was arrested and charged with retail theft Feb. 4, 2016, at a large department store in Bloomingdale. St. Charles police were able to identify Neal as a suspect in the two other thefts.

Prosecutors said Neal's criminal record includes being charged at least 25 times with felonies, including residential burglaries, in the Chicago suburban area.

Under state law, Neal can have his sentence cut in half for good behavior behind bars, and he gets credit for 255 days served at the Kane County jail while the case was pending.