Getaway Driver in the Saks Fifth Avenue Smash and Grab Sentenced

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Missouri
20 July 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

St. Louis, MO – Mario Washington, 24, of Chicago, Illinois was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for his role in the November 26, 2016 smash and grab theft of Chanel handbags from the Saks Fifth Avenue department store at Plaza Frontenac.

According to the plea agreement, Washington acted as the getaway driver and was waiting in the parking lot while 12 individuals entered the store, smashed fixtures and shelves and made away with numerous Chanel handbags. Other handbags were damaged in during the theft.

In addition to his term of imprisonment, Washington faces revocation of his Illinois state probation for drug offenses in Cook County, Illinois. Judge Audrey Fleissig also ordered that Washington serve three years supervised release after prison, forfeit his interest in the stolen goods and any other items seized by law enforcement, and pay $159,000 in restitution along with his co-defendants.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Frontenac Police Department, the Illinois State Police, the Montgomery (Il.) County Sheriff’s Department, the Montgomery (Il.) County Prosecutor’s Office and the St. Louis County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.