19-Oct-20 – Things just got real for Romell Funches, the man prosecutors say posed as a FedEx driver to steal $107,738 worth of mobile phones and accessories from a Verizon store in the Loop in January.

Funches was back in bond court on October 11 to hear prosecutors accuse him of committing 17 more thefts from Verizon using the same ruse.

On January 10, Chicago police arrested Funches after he allegedly dressed as a FedEx employee to steal a shipment of phones from the Verizon store at 205 North Michigan Avenue. The pick-up was a trap, according to court documents, set by corporate security officials at Verizon and FedEx.

Prosecutors say Funches (left) used to work for FedEx, and kept parts of his uniform when he left. When he was arrested in January, Funches was wearing a FedEx jacket, FedEx pants, and a FedEx hat. He was charged with felony burglary and felony theft and went home by posting a $500 deposit bond.

Investigators continued to look into a series of similar thefts from three Verizon stores between October and January. Funches was charged with 17 additional felonies after Verizon employees identified him as the thief, according to prosecutors.

After hearing the state’s allegations, Circuit Judge John Lyke, Jr., told Funches, “you are barred from every Verizon store in the state of Illinois.”

The judge set bail at $107,738, the value of the merchandise Funches is accused of stealing. He must post a ten percent deposit bond to get out of jail before his trial.