Des Plaines restaurant workers face theft charges after customer’s handbag is stolen

Two employees at a Des Plaines restaurant were arrested this week after stealing a customer’s handbag, police said in a news release.

The theft occurred early June 1 at Papa Ray’s Pizza and Wings, 967 1/2 Elmhurst Road.

Javier E. Rivera, 42, and Kevin Luna-Jaramillo, 31, both of the 2400 block of Landmeier Road, Elk Grove Village, are charged with theft of lost or mislaid property.

The customer accidentally left the bag in the restaurant, returned and discovered it missing, police said.

Officers went to the restaurant and spoke with Rivera and Luna-Jaramillo. One of the men then got the purse out of a vehicle, police said, and there was money missing.

Officers subsequently reviewed surveillance footage that showed Rivera and Luna-Jaramillo sifting through the bag before placing it under a counter, the release said.

Rivera and Luna-Jaramillo were arrested three days later. They were released after being charged.