A 12-time convicted felon charged with burglarizing a West Loop condo building last year stopped showing up in court after being given a recognizance bond one year ago. This week, prosecutors accused William Moorehead of using his time on the lam to burglarize three more condo buildings in the West Loop.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged the 56-year-old with two fresh counts of burglary and one count of attempted burglary.
On January 6 of last year, prosecutors charged Moorehead with burglary in connection with a condo building break-in on the first block of North Loomis. He was released on his own recognizance.
He stopped showing up in court and then allegedly went back to his old ways.
On September 6, a security guard who works at a residential building on the 1100 block of West Madison saw a man trying to break through a back door with a pair of pliers, but the man failed to get into the building and then slipped away. The guard later identified Moorehead in a photo line-up as the would-be burglar, prosecutors said.
The next day, security cameras at a condo building on the first block of North Racine allegedly recorded Moorehead using pliers to break into the complex and then make his way to the parking garage. In the garage, another camera captured footage of Moorehead walking out with two bikes that belong to building residents, prosecutors said.
According to the state’s allegations, Moorehead was wearing the same clothes during the Racine break-in that he was wearing when he tried to break into the complex on Madison Street one day earlier.
Then, on January 5, Moorehead allegedly took a power washer, air compressor, and two bikes from a condo building parking garage in the 200 block of South Green. Prosecutors said there is video footage of him leaving with the items in a minivan.
Police arrested Moorehead on Tuesday for allegedly possessing burglary tools. A judge ordered him held without bail for violating the terms of release in last year’s burglary case. Investigators then linked him to the three new West Loop burglary cases.
Judge Charles Beach on Thursday ruled that Moorehead can get out of jail on his own recognizance with electronic monitoring on the new cases. But Moorehead is still held without bail for his earlier bail violation.
Prosecutors said Moorehead has been convicted of 12 felonies since 2000, and all but one of those cases resulted in prison sentences. According to the state, the convictions include attempted burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and five thefts.