CHICAGO — A Rogers Park man who burglarized a restaurant near the Howard CTA station got away with a bit of cash, some electronics, and, jarringly, a pistol that the restaurant’s owner kept under the counter, prosecutors said.
Chicago police were able to recover the weapon and arrest the burglar after the restaurant’s owner spotted him standing on the sidewalk while an evidence technician processed the burglary scene.
A witness flagged down a patrol car Sunday morning after seeing someone breaking through the back door of a restaurant in the 7600 block of North Paulina, according to an arrest report the officers filed.
After confirming a break-in, the officers contacted the owner, who reviewed surveillance video and provided them with a description of the burglar. According to the report, he told them he saw the burglar take cash from a register, three tablets, a TV and its mount, a phone, a knife, and a loaded pistol.
The report said the owner went to the restaurant to meet with police and then stepped outside to make a phone call, only to discover the burglar standing outside next to a shopping cart filled with the burglary proceeds.
Officers quickly arrested the man, identified as 31-year-old Brandon McQuinn. As McQuinn struggled to avoid arrest, the restaurant owner’s firearm fell to the ground at his feet, according to the arrest report.
Prosecutors charged McQuinn with burglary, possessing a stolen firearm, possessing a controlled substance, and three counts of misdemeanor resisting.
Judge William Fahy released him on electronic monitoring.
