Prosecutors: Bystanders in Schaumburg tackled wallet thief

A 42-year-old Chicago man was tackled by two bystanders Wednesday after he stole the wallet of a woman who was shopping at a Schaumburg store, authorities said.

Elkin Castillo, who authorities say is on parole and has a theft case pending in Chicago, was ordered held on $100,000 bail Thursday.

The woman, Celeste Medynskyj, was shopping after work at a store on the 1400 block of Golf Road when she noticed Castillo following her, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Ryan DeGroot.

Exiting the store, she noticed her wallet was missing and saw Castillo run toward Woodfield Mall, DeGroot said.

Medynskyj, wearing high heels, said she was chasing Castillo across Golf Road when a man drove up next to her and asked if she needed help.

“I'm in my high heels from work,” Medynskyj said. “I'm dodging cars when some guy drove up next to me and was like 'Ma'am, are you OK?'”

The man immediately parked his car and started chasing Castillo, according to Medynskyj, a 37-year-old dentist.

Medynskyj saw him drop her wallet in a parking lot across the street from the store after which he was tackled “by a couple of concerned citizens,” DeGroot said.

Medynskyj said she still doesn't know the names of the two people who got her wallet back and never got to thank them.

When she gets the police report back in about a week, Medynskyj wants to track them down and reward them, she said.

“He didn't even know me,” Medynskyj said of one of the good Samaritans. “He just saw me running in the street.”

Castillo's background includes 15 felony convictions for theft, robbery, attempted burglary and aggravated DUI dating back to 2000, DeGroot said.

Castillo next appears in court Feb. 5.

• Daily Herald correspondent Henry D. Redman contributed to this report