Dorchester man charged with shoplifting thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing from Prudential Center store, threatening officers
BOSTON, June 23, 2025 – A Dorchester man will return to court in July after being arraigned in BMC Central earlier this month for stealing $2,331 in merchandise from the Prudential Center Lululemon while the store was closed and threatening officers during his arrest, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
DAVID TRACY, 42, was charged on June 12 with breaking and entering into a building to commit a felony, larceny over $1,200, resisting arrest, threats to commit a crime, and possession to distribute a Class E substance.
Judge Mark Summerville ordered Tracy held on $5,000 bail. Summerville denied a prosecutor’s request to revoke Tracy’s bail on a pending assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (knife) case.
Tracy will return to court on July 10 for a pre-trial hearing.
At about 8:06 a.m. on June 12 Boston police responded to a larceny in progress at Lululemon located at 776 Boylston Street. Store employees told officers that a man had entered the store before it opened and had stolen merchandise.
Video surveillance shows the man sliding the closed glass doorway of Lululemon to gain access to the store. The footage shows the man in the store for approximately one minute before exiting with numerous clothing items.
Officers in the area observed a man matching the description given by store employees on an electric bicycle exiting the Prudential Center. Officers saw the man, later identified as Tracy, turn his bike and ride in the opposite direction when he noticed officers pursuing him.
Officers arrested Tracy after a brief struggle and recovered 26 items, worth a total of $2,331, which they returned to the store. Store employees positively identified Tracy.
Officers also recovered 11 orange pills believed to be Adderall and a pocketknife from Tracy’s pocket. During the search, Tracy said to officers “if you touch me the wrong way, I’ll headbutt you and break your nose,” along with other threats.
Tracy has a pending case out of BMC Central in which he is charged with stabbing a man in Downtown Crossing in October 2024 because he believed the victim was a loss prevention employee and was following him around.
The victim in that case sustained serious injuries, including a lacerated liver.
Tracy has a 17-page board of probation record dating back to 2000. He was convicted of two counts of armed robbery in 2012.
“We often see suspects charged with retail theft engaged in conduct that goes beyond those offenses to present an even larger threat to consumers, neighborhoods and police. Our partnerships with retailers help enormously in our efforts to focus on the small number of individuals driving an outsized percentage of associated crimes,” Hayden said.
Hayden’s office, the Boston Police department, regional retailer groups and small business owners in 2024 launched the Safe Shopping Initiative, an effort to increase consumer safety and help store managers strategize responses to shoplifting and retail larcenies. The initiative formed amid increasing national and local frustrations around retail crime, along with concerns over the closure of several pharmacies serving minority communities in Boston.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications