You will NOT believe this one.
So, a few days ago, we published a recap of sentences handed down to four local burglars. We left off a fifth man—Ryan Brandis. It’d be tedious to recap everything we’d ever reported on the guy only to say that he had recently been released on probation.
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| Facebook pic of Brandis at correctional boot camp. | Facebook |
Here’s what we didn’t publish on Wednesday. Read on. It’s worth it.
In 2013 and 2014, Brandis became infamous as a ginger-topped thief who unleashed a relentless attack on Lakeview bike storage rooms and laundry facilities (where he stole change from cash boxes).
Our first piece about him ran in November 2013, telling the story of how he found his way from Streator, IL, to take up residence at the Broadway Youth Center in Lakeview. And how he managed to be arrested repeatedly.
Eleven days later, Brandis was arrested again for burglary.
In less than a month, Brandis copped a plea and went to jail—only the second time he had been sentenced to do time despite having more than 38 arrests in three years.
Shortly after being paroled, he selected a new Facebook profile pic: a photo of unattended bicycles at the Ravenswood Metra station.
And in March 2015, Brandis was arrested for stealing bikes at Clark and Belmont.
But Cook County Judge Marvin Luckman set Brandis free, saying there was no probable cause to arrest him for the Clark/Belmont bike thefts. That’s despite the fact that multiple passers-by saw what happened and held Brandis for cops. (It was here that we gave Brandis a nickname: “The In-n-Out Burglar.”)
About a month after Luckman cut Brandis loose, he was arrested for battery. He was convicted and sentenced to 30 days.
Also in May 2015, a grand jury essentially reversed Luckman’s “no probable cause” finding by returning a three-count “true bill” against Brandis in the Clark/Belmont bike theft case.
Brandis sat in Cook County Jail from that day until a judge sentenced him to two-years mental health probation on November 9.
So that’s the long story about Ryan Brandis that we left out of our burglary recap on Wednesday.
Man Charged With Uptown Burglary
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| Brandis | Chicago Police Dept |
A South Side man was arrested in Uptown Friday afternoon and charged with stealing a bicycle from an apartment building storage room.
Ryan Brandis, 30, was arrested at 3:27 p.m. in the 4600 block of North Broadway after being positively identified as the thief, police said.
Brandis is charged with one felony count of burglary. He is being held without bail.
