CHICAGO — A serial burglar is in jail, charged with breaking into another Chicago home after a sharp-eyed neighbor called 911 upon seeing him crawl into the victim’s home.
Robert Collazo, 43, of Valparaiso, was detained by Judge Susana Ortiz as a safety threat on a single count of residential burglary. It’s at least the seventh burglary-related arrest since 2000.
The neighbor told police they saw a man ringing a doorbell in the 4000 block of West Oakdale shortly before noon on March 29. Minutes later, the man climbed through a front window of the home, leading the neighbor to call police, according to Collazo’s arrest report.
Officers found Collazo in the home’s back yard, but he ran when they approached, the report said. Cops searched the area and found him “appearing out of breath and sweating” in the 4000 block of West Oakdale around noon, according to the report.
Police said they found Collazo’s key fob in his pocket, entangled with a gold chain. The burglary victim subsequently identified the chain as her property, the report stated.
Judge Ortiz mentioned that one reason she didn’t believe Collazo should be released before trial was his nine previous times on parole.
Collazo happened to be arrested on the seventh anniversary of his last burglary arrest in Chicago. In that case, he eventually received a seven-year sentence for burglarizing a home in the 2800 block of North Campbell.
According to a CPD arrest report filed at the time, video showed him ringing the victim’s doorbell, then burglarizing the home and walking away with a five-gallon jug of coins.
