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Man accused of stealing $30K from Back Bay retailers

Sakege November 5, 2024

A Boston man with a long history of shoplifting was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing more than $30,000 in merchandise from Victoria’s Secret and Lululemon stores in Back Bay in August and September, prosecutors said Monday.

Essie Billingslea, 34, was already on probation for another theft incident in July when he was charged Oct. 7 with three counts of theft over $1,200 in the central division of Boston Municipal Court, according to a statement from the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.

At that hearing, Billingslea was held on $5,000 bail. He was due back in court on November 19.

But during an Oct. 31 hearing on his probation violation, a judge found him in violation and sentenced him to prison, according to the release.

Billingslea, who has committed 20 theft offenses since 2021, was known to police. His most recent crimes occurred in August and September.

Police responded to reports of a robbery at Victoria’s Secret at 100 Huntington Ave. (Prudential Center) on Aug. 27, authorities said. Store employees told police that a man with a reusable TJ Maxx bag entered the store and stole $1,558.50 worth of merchandise, according to the release.

Two days later, police responded to reports of theft at a Lululemon at 208 Newbury St., according to the release. The manager reported seeing a man wearing a yellow shirt and black pants steal from several boxes containing 145 pairs of leggings valued at $29,120 and place the items into TJ Maxx shopping bags, according to the release.

Police responded to another Lululemon on Sept. 4 at 776 Boylston St., where a store employee reported that a man placed about 31 pairs of leggings valued at $3,200 in a TJ Maxx bag after entering the store, police said. authorities.

You can contact Kiera McDonald at [email protected].