Four arrested in possible DuPage theft ring

DuPage County sheriff's investigators say they uncovered a theft ring after arresting one of the members robbing a gas station near Glen Ellyn.

Detectives on Tuesday said a 24-year-old homeless man named David A. Mason was recruited to help shoplift electronic items from Wal-Mart stores in DuPage, Kane, Cook, Will, LaSalle and Grundy counties. They learned of the plot after arresting Mason on Dec. 4 following a robbery at the Mobil station at 22W070 Butterfield Road.

Authorities said Ian E. Drury, 24, of Wheaton, and Brian C. Evitt, 24, of Lisle, were the ringleaders who told Mason and another homeless man, Joseph R. Belcher, 28, what items to steal. Investigators said the men had pilfered more than $15,000 worth of electronic equipment, which Drury would post for sale on Internet auction sites.

All three have been charged with burglary and theft. Drury also was charged with drug possession and is free after posting bond.

Mason has been charged in connection with the gas station robbery as well as theft and burglary for his role in the Wal-Mart thefts.

Detectives cracked the ring after staking out a Romeoville Wal-Mart store Dec. 9 where they caught Belcher and Evitt. A search conducted at Drury's residence resulted in the recovery of computers and several stolen electronic items.

Authorities did not say how long the foursome had been stealing from the Wal-Mart stores or why the stores were specifically targeted, though both Belcher and Mason were charged with felony counts of theft by fire exit.

Belcher has a nearly spotless criminal record in DuPage County, but the other three are fixtures of the criminal court system. Belcher remains in jail in Wheaton in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

Drury's criminal record mainly consists of traffic offenses, but also includes convictions for trespassing in 2007 and retail theft in 1999 when he was a teenager.

Evitt's criminal past also began in his teenage years. According to the DuPage Court Clerk's Web site, Evitt has been arrested more than two dozen times since 1999 and owes $11,414.06 in court costs and fines stemming from convictions in those cases, a court clerk official said.

Evitt has been convicted of minor traffic offenses, domestic violence, obstructing justice, forgery, theft, drug possession, trespassing, burglary and misuse of forest preserve property - for which he still owes a $47 fine. His bond was set at $200,000 and he remains behind bars as well.

Mason also has skirted payment on several previous convictions, tallying more than $680 in fines and fees for convictions dating to 2001, according to the clerk's Web site. His bond was set at $600,000, sheriff's deputies said.