CHICAGO — Charvale Bass, accused last week of burglarizing six restaurants and stores, was charged with eight more restaurant burglaries Thursday after Chicago police investigators linked him to the crimes through video and GPS evidence.
According to prosecutors, the new charges stem from break-ins that are nearly identical to the previously-charged cases.
During overnight hours, Bass used rocks, bricks, or chunks of concrete to break windows or glass doors of restaurants, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Dale-Schmidt said Thursday. He crawled through the openings, stole cash registers and safes, and frequently escaped in a silver Nissan.
In late May, Chicago police secured a warrant to place a GPS tracker on the Nissan, which linked Bass to several cases and eventually allowed cops to locate him, officials said.
Thursday’s charges involve burglaries of restaurants between March 17 and May 26 in the 2300 block of West North Avenue, the 2500 block of West Division, the 3700 block of West North Avenue, the 4100 block of West North Avenue, the 3200 block of West Fullerton, the 4200 block of West Fullerton, the 3500 block of West Fullerton, and the 3000 block of West Armitage.
Cops attached the GPS tracker to Bass’ car on May 23, and it showed his vehicle at three of the burglaries just three days later, Dale-Schmidt said.
Detectives put the car under surveillance and followed the tracker on May 31 as Bass allegedly broke into Slide Bar, 939 South Western Avenue, at 4 a.m.
Officials said Bass bailed out of the car as cops moved in, then ran into a building and tried to escape by jumping from the third floor. Police arrested him after he landed ungracefully.
Judge Ankur Srivastava set bail for the eight new cases at $75,000. That means Bass must post $7,500 to be released. He will have to post another $2,500 and go on electronic monitoring for the previously-charged cases.
In addition to Slide Bar, those break-ins allegedly occurred at Crater Foods, 1148 North Milwaukee, on March 2; Output Bar, 1758 West Grand, on April 15; Beetle Bar and Grill, 2532 West Chicago Avenue, on April 14; Burger Baron, 1381 West Grand, on April 29; and Don’s Grill, 1837 South Western Avenue, on May 15.