A 13-time convicted felon who’s on parole for his ninth burglary conviction is back in jail today, accused of burglarizing an Uptown man’s apartment while the victim stepped out to get a haircut. Despite the new allegations, the Illinois Department of Corrections is not planning to revoke the accused man’s parole.
Chicago police arrested Mark Haas on Tuesday after they saw him prying open the back gate of a home with a screwdriver, prosecutor Tilesha Jackson said. He was then linked to the July 29 Uptown burglary.
Around 1:30 that afternoon, the victim headed out for a haircut and locked the front door to his apartment in the 4100 block of North Sheridan Road. When he returned 45 minutes later, the front door had been kicked in, and his property was missing, Jackson said.
Two laptops, a guitar, eight guitar pedals, a Cannondale bike, and two watches were stolen.
Surveillance camera footage showed Haas leaving the building with the man’s bike and riding it up Sheridan Road while carrying a guitar case, Jackson said. Haas sold some of the stolen property to two pawn shops, Jackson said, adding that video from both businesses showed him riding the victim’s bike to make the transactions.
Haas received an 11-year sentence for burglarizing an apartment on the Northwest Side in April 2017. He was released from prison in May 2021 after serving a fraction of the time, according to state records.
He previously received two 6-year sentences for attempted residential burglary in 2013; six years for attempted residential burglary in 2010; two 9-year sentences for residential burglary in 2006; two 8-year sentences for burglary and residential burglary in 2002; four years for burglary, one year for misuse of a credit card, and two years for retail theft in 1999; three years for aggravated fleeing in 1996; and three years for attempted residential burglary in 1995.
Haas, whose public defender said he works as an auto mechanic, is now charged with residential burglary and unlawful possession of an ID card.
“Entering someone’s residence can create one of the most dangerous encounters that exist should there be someone home within that residence or arrive home while someone is in their home,” Judge Susana Ortiz said during Haas’ bail hearing. She told him that he had to pay a $3,000 bail deposit to be let out on electronic monitoring.
Jackson informed the judge that IDOC had decided not to revoke Haas’ parole.
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