Nearly two weeks ago, Chicago police arrested Patrick Giles for allegedly participating in the late-night burglary of a Lincoln Park consignment shop in January—a crime that cost the store’s owner $130,000.
But Giles, 31, told arresting officers he was having trouble breathing after police arrested him, and a detective rode with him in the back of an ambulance to a hospital. Along the way, prosecutors said Thursday, Giles slipped out of his handcuffs and then bolted from the ambulance. He got away.
Chicago cops caught him again this week, and thanks to his Houdini act, he’s now charged with even more felonies.
The burglary
Around 2:40 a.m. on January 4, a red Dodge truck and a blue Dodge Charger pulled up in front of Cynthia’s Consignments, 2218 North Clybourn. Eight people exited the vehicles and used bolt cutters to snap open a security gate that protected the store’s front door. After using a hammer to break the door’s glass, they all barged in, officials said.
As security camera rolled, the crew stole high-end purses, clothing, a safe, and other items with a total value of $130,000, prosecutor Sarah Dale-Schmidt said during Giles’ bail hearing Thursday afternoon.
They escaped in the two vehicles, and police determined that the Dodge truck was stolen from Evergreen Park and its license plate was stolen from Riverdale, according to Dale-Schmidt.
The investigation
Chicago police detectives pored over city surveillance camera footage from the night of the burglary. They found the Dodge truck and Charger “caravanning” with other cars, “a mix of stolen vehicles and stolen plates,” said Dale-Schmidt. None of the plates matched the vehicles they were on.
The investigators distributed surveillance images from the burglary to cops across the city. A Morgan Park (22nd) District officer recognized Giles, Dale-Schmidt said. CPD’s organized retail theft task force went to work on building a case.
An arrest and an escape
The task force found him on February 27 as he pumped gas into a stolen Infiniti Q50 at an Englewood gas station, said Dale-Schmidt. After backup officers arrived, the cops approached Giles.
He pulled out a gun and ran. Officers chased him through yards and caught him, but his gun was gone, Dale-Schmidt said. Cops allegedly found it lying in a nearby gangway. Stolen from Gary, Indiana, the weapon was outfitted with a 25-round extended magazine. Back at the gas station, other officers found two loaded rifles, each loaded with more than 25 rounds, in the front and back seats.
Giles complained of neck pain and breathing problems, Dale-Schmidt said, and paramedics loaded him into an ambulance with his hands cuffed behind his back. When the back doors opened upon arriving at the hospital, Giles was out of his cuffs. He pushed a detective sitting next to him, jumped out of the ambulance, and ran away.
Once again, he was in the wind.
Dale-Schmidt detailed several attempts by police to locate Giles at various residences, but people inside the homes refused to open the door for officers. They eventually caught up with Giles again on Wednesday.
A history
Giles is a four-time convicted felon and was mentioned in one of CWB Chicago’s earliest stories in November 2013. He was accused of participating in a flash mob that stole merchandise racks from a Sports Authority store in Lakeview.
Dale-Schmidt said he had been convicted of felonies four times: twice for narcotics in 2011, burglary in 2014, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in 2021.
He’s now charged with burglary of Cynthia’s Consignments. But it may be the least of his problems. Prosecutors also charged him with escape from a police officer, Class X armed habitual criminal, aggravated battery of a peace officer, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Judge William Fahy ordered him to pay a $60,000 deposit toward bail to be released on electronic monitoring.
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