Wheaton Man Charged with Lottery Ticket Theft

Yonas Beyene, a 37-year-old man from Wheaton, has been charged with multiple felonies including burglary and retail theft after allegedly stealing $730 worth of lottery tickets from a 7-Eleven in Elmhurst on December 21. Prosecutors claim Beyene befriended the store clerk, who allowed him to stay inside to charge his phone, only to steal the tickets when the clerk left the register unattended. Beyene is suspected of a series of similar thefts across several towns in DuPage County, with three outstanding warrants for prior lottery ticket thefts at the time of his arrest on January 3. Following his court appearance, a judge denied him pre-trial release, and he is scheduled to return to court on January 27. The case highlights a pattern of theft that has reportedly been occurring for months, as stated by DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin.