Police on Friday arrested a burglar as he took time out to lounge on the victim’s sofa in Wrigleyville, prosecutors say. It’s at least the third time the accused man, Jeff Sarfo, has been charged with committing felonies in Wrigleyville.
He went to prison for robbing a victim at the Addison Red Line station in 2012. And he received another three-year sentence for robbing a couple outside their Wrigleyville home in 2017, although he was only in an actual prison for three days in that case.
Around 10:45 p.m. on May 7, a Wrigleyville resident saw a man climb the stairs of a porch and try to open a third-floor apartment door on the 3700 block of North Fremont. When it didn’t open, the man climbed down and entered a second-floor unit through its unlocked back door. The witness called 911.
Police arrived quickly and found Sarfo, 26, sitting on a couch inside the second-floor unit, prosecutors said. He allegedly had two wallets belonging to the apartment’s owner in his pocket and other property from the residence in a bag.
The alleged victim told police he doesn’t know Sarfo and never gave him permission to be in his apartment, prosecutors said. Sarfo is charged with two counts of burglary.
Judge Mary Marubio, noting that the burglaries allegedly took place when Sarfo knew people might be home, ordered him held in lieu of $50,000 bail. He’ll need to post $5,000 and go onto electronic monitoring to get out of jail before trial.
Sarfo has been sentenced to prison four times, according to state records: the 2012 Addison Red Line robbery, a 2012 gun conviction, a 2015 aggravated fleeing case, and a 2017 robbery of a Wrigleyville couple.
Around 5:10 a.m. on September 10, 2017, Sarfo approached a Lakeview couple outside of their home in the 1200 block of West Waveland, pulled out a handgun, and took their valuables, prosecutors alleged at the time. He eventually received a three-year sentence in the case. After receiving credit for time served awaiting trial and a 50% sentence reduction for good behavior, Sarfo left prison three days after he arrived.
While on bail in the robbery case, Sarfo was accused of having a gun at his feet during a traffic stop and then dropping bullets in the back seat of the arresting officers’ patrol car. He was found not guilty in a bench trial before Judge Carol Howard, records show.
Because of his background, Sarfo faces enhanced Class X felony sentencing in the new burglary case, prosecutors said during his bond court hearing. If he’s convicted, he faces a sentence of six- to 30-years.