You have to feel for the area’s latest burglary victim, oblivious to the break-in spree that has infested our 19th District since October.
The man’s home monitoring service called around 5:15 Tuesday evening to let him know that his home burglar alarm had been activated.
Not wanting to bother the police with such trivialities, the good citizen called 911 to let dispatchers know that they should ignore the call—it was just a false alarm.
What he didn’t know is that police officers were already inside his home in the 400 block of W. Roslyn Place. And they had some bad news.
While the alarm company was calling the homeowner, a witness was calling 911 to report that two men had just kicked in the victim’s back door and walked out with a white safe along with some electronics. They fled in a vehicle that had Georgia license plates.
Worth It?
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| Radcliffe (top) and Ruff |
A first-time burglary conviction in Illinois typically brings a 3-year prison sentence, so most people see the risk-reward scale tipping heavily toward risk.
But, CWBChicago just received a list of items that were taken during a burglary in the 3700 block of N. Lakewood in late December. The list is pretty remarkable:
• $100 Sony Blue Ray player
• $400 PlayStation 3
• $350 worth of video games
• $1,500 Macbook Pro
• $300 Samsung Tablet
• $600 car keys
• $100 watch
• $400 iPad
• $400 Nexus 9 tablet
• $650 Nexus 6 tablet
• $50 iPhone 5
…and a $5 Chicago Blackhawks 2010 hockey puck
The homeowner was on vacation at the time of the burglary. He returned home and found his back door unlocked.
Two men are charged with the crime: 18-year-old Dezmond Radcliffe of Morgan Park and 19-year-old Eli Ruff of West Englewood. Bail is set at $200,000 and $500,000 respectively.
Ruff’s name may sound familiar. Less than three weeks after the Lakewood burglary, he and two other men were accused of severely beating a 77-year-old Wrigleyville woman during an early morning home invasion.
Ruff, Tracie Towbridge, and Lilearl Taylor all face charges of attempted murder, robbery of a senior citizen, aggravated battery of a senior citizen, and more.
Another Alert
And, finally, Chicago police detectives have issued still another burglary alert for Lakeview. Garage burglaries are the focus of the latest warning.
Detectives say thieves stole bicycles after slipping into at least three garages: In the 1400 block of W. Grace around 4:15AM on March 15; in the 1200 block of W. Roscoe between 11AM and 1PM on March 16; and in the 3700 block of N. Sheffield between 9AM and 6:30PM on March 17.
