Prosecutors say a concealed carry holder shot a burglar who charged at him when he returned to his home in Chinatown on Monday evening. Now, the burglar is hospitalized and charged with a felony.
Chicago police responded to the victim’s home in the 300 block of West 24th Place around 6:30 p.m. and found Tywone Underwood, 30, with a gunshot wound to his abdomen.
The homeowner, 32, told cops that he saw his garage door open and a bike leaning against the garage when he returned home. When he peeked into the garage’s side door, Underwood charged at him, the prosecutor said.
The victim took a step back, pulled out his gun, and shot Underwood once in the abdomen, said Sarah Dale-Schmidt, a Cook County prosecutor.
Police found the victim’s PlayStation, Yeezy slippers, and an Apple iPod in the garage, all of which had been removed from the man’s home by Underwood. Cops determined that Underwood entered the victim’s home through an unlocked second-floor window and then ransacked the residence, Dale-Schmidt said.
Prosecutors charged him with residential burglary and simple assault. Judge Charles Beach ordered him to pay a $25,000 deposit toward bail to get out of custody.
Dale-Schmidt said Underwood was convicted of manufacture-delivery in 2011 and unlawful use of a weapon in 2012.
But Underwood has also been convicted of burglary-like misdemeanors in more recent years, according to court records.
He was charged with criminal damage and trespassing in February 2019 after a North Center resident reported two men broke the front glass of her building and then started turning door handles on apartments.
Three weeks later, he was charged with misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property for allegedly selling three iPads that were taken in a burglary.
He pleaded guilty to all charges in both incidents and received a sentence of two days.