Elgin man charged in retail scam

A 22-year-old Elgin man who set his own prices on a St. Charles shopping spree was behind bars Tuesday on multiple felony charges, authorities said.

James H. Tokarski, of 38W612 Arrowmaker Pass, is accused of manufacturing his own merchandise price codes and using them to buy a shopping cart full of items at reduced prices Monday from Meijer, 855 S. Randall Road.

Tokarski was arrested on the 200 block of South Second Street in St. Charles shortly after being confronted by store security and fleeing the scene, police spokesman Paul McCurtain said.

He is charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a universal price code and one count of unlawful use of a scanning device -- both felonies. Tokarski also is charged with misdemeanor theft.

According to police, Tokarski placed fraudulent UPC codes he printed at home on several items at Meijer, then went through a self-checkout lane to ring them up at reduced prices.

McCurtain said he did not know exactly how many item prices Tokarski altered, but "he filled up a shopping cart with merchandise."

"It is creative," McCurtain said. "However, people don't realize that most of the retail shops nowadays have their own loss prevention units and security, and they're constantly watching people on the floors. That's what happened in this case. Security officers actually watched him make the changes."

Tokarski used a handheld scanning device from an area retail store where he worked to manufacture the fake barcodes, McCurtain said. Police would not name Tokarski's place of employment.

The suspect's bail was set Tuesday at $7,500.

If convicted of one of the most serious charges, Class 3 felonies, Tokarski could face two to five years in prison.

His next court date is Dec. 7.