Chicago — When police arrested Jacob Mallander in Lakeview earlier this year, he was allegedly carrying fake IDs, credit cards in the names of several other people, and a burglary tool kit.
He received probation in that case, prosecutors said on Thursday, one day after Chicago police allegedly caught him carrying a host of fake IDs, passports, and credit cards belonging to other people as he burglarized an Edgewater storage facility.
Curiously, a CWBChicago reader found an obituary for the man that claims he died on Monday, two days before he was arrested at the storage facility.
Chicago cops set up surveillance on the Public Storage, 5733 North Broadway, after receiving reports of units being broken into and burglarized, prosecutors said.
Just before 6 a.m. Wednesday, the officers heard someone pull down the storage unit’s fire escape and climb into the facility’s second floor. The police allegedly arrested Mallander after they saw him exiting an aisle of storage units.
Mallander was captured on surveillance video as he pawned items taken from the storage facility on December 17, prosecutors said. The burglar also used the fire escape to enter the building to commit those break-ins, and video showed him entering the facility both nights, according to the allegations.
While taking Mallander into custody, Chicago cops allegedly found him carrying two fake US passports, including one in the name of a New York man who apparently died in a traffic crash last year, officials said. A third passport was issued to Timothy Johnson.
Mallander also allegedly had IDs and credit cards issued to people with last names, including Roberts, Cline, McCord, Shongwe, Nicholson, and Trujillo. Prosecutors said he also had a vial of GHB and suspected methamphetamine.
He is charged with theft, unlawful credit card use, burglary, and possessing a controlled substance.
Mallander is on probation for unlawful possession of a credit card for the third time, prosecutors said.
In that case, police stopped Mallander for allegedly shoplifting from Mariano’s, 3030 North Broadway, in Lakeview.
Prosecutors said that he gave them a California driver’s license with his picture and the name “Jacob Michaels” on it. Cops ran the driver’s license number. It came back to a guy named Tucker Smith.
Cops searched his wallet, allegedly finding debit and credit cards issued in the names of six people, a second fraudulent license, and a Tennessee license belonging to another man. Police also recovered the lock pick set, a pry tool, and a leatherman tool, according to CPD records.
On Thursday, Mallander’s public defender said he has a bachelor’s degree in communications and works full-time as a floor supervisor at Crate and Barrel.
Judge Kelly McCarthy ordered him to pay a $3,000 bail deposit to be released on electronic monitoring. Separately, McCarthy held him without bail for violating probation until the judge overseeing that case reviews the matter on December 29.
