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| Timothy Smith (inset) is charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools. |
A 51-year-old three-time convicted burglar is in custody, accused of breaking into parked cars near Boystown.
Police say they stopped Timothy Smith of the Auburn Gresham neighborhood in the 3500 block of North Pine Grove after receiving a call of a man breaking into cars around 1 a.m. last Sunday. When cops asked Smith to approach their patrol car, he threw a screwdriver on the ground and then walked over, according to police.
“I just left my girl’s place,” Smith allegedly said.
During a protective pat-down, an officer allegedly found the faceplate of a JVC car stereo in Smith’s back pocket. Smith said he didn’t know anything about it.
Before long, cops found a car with its window broken out and its stereo missing. They also found the JVC stereo itself and another screwdriver lying on the ground about 20 feet from where they first saw Smith standing, they said.
Smith was taken into custody and has been charged with felony burglary and felony possession of burglary tools. Judge Mary Marubio set bail at $25,000 and ordered him to go onto electronic monitoring if he is able to post bond.
Smith is on supervised release after completing parole in October for a crime that bears an uncanny resemblance to what he’s accused of doing in Lakeview:
In October 2014, cops patrolling the Grand Boulevard neighborhood stopped Smith after seeing him lurking near cars in an alley with a bag in his hand. Inside the bag was (Here it comes!) a JVC car stereo along with a Magellan GPS system, some cement rocks, and specks of broken glass. He was on parole at the time and received a new four-year sentence for burglary.
Smiths previous burglary convictions were in 2011 (earning a six-year sentence) and 2007 (a seven-year term).
Business Break-Ins Continue
All indications are that the person or persons responsible for dozens of after-hours business burglaries on the North Side remain on the loose.
At least three Lincoln Park businesses were broken into between the close of business on Saturday and opening time on Sunday. Struck in the latest wave: a Thai restaurant in the 2400 block of North Halsted; a nail salon in the 2500 block of North Sheffield; and an unidentified business directly next door to the nail salon.
Police issued community alerts about business break-ins on April 2 and March 29.
