Chicago police arrested a 23-time convicted burglar this week after he was identified as the man who had been breaking into North Side businesses during January.
Prosecutors charged Lamont Gordon, 58, with four burglaries and, even though he is on parole for his three latest burglary convictions, he was released from custody the next day. According to court records, his parole was not revoked, nor was he put on electronic monitoring.
CPD released two community alerts about the burglary crime pattern, including a video of the suspect and surveillance images. According to Gordon’s latest arrest report, a Chicago cop ultimately recognized him.
Officers on patrol saw Gordon walking in the 2700 block of West Devon at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday and took him into custody. The arrest report said he had a screwdriver and a flashlight when the cops detained him.
While he initially denied participating in any burglaries, he “admitted and confessed” after seeing surveillance footage, the report said.
Prosecutors charged him with burglarizing River & Road Cafe, 1259 West Devon, on January 11; Vee-Vee’s African Restaurant, 6232 North Broadway, on January 9; Falafel Kebab Station, 1133 West Granville, on January 3; and Nohadra Grocery, 2959 West Devon, on January 11. They said he took cash from registers or offices at all four locations.
Gordon also told cops he has “a narcotics/cocaine habit/addiction,” according to the arrest report.
Under Illinois’ cashless bail law, people accused of burglary can only be detained if they use force against another person during the break-in. However, Franklin County State’s Attorney Abby Dinn says there is an exception if the individual has “two prior Class 2 felonies in the last 10 years.”
Gordon has three Class 2 felony convictions in the past four years, all for burglary, court records show. But prosecutors did not ask Judge Deidre Dyer to detain him and the state did not issue a parole warrant.
Dyer released Gordon on Thursday, telling him to stay away from the businesses he’s accused of burglarizing.
Gordon was released from prison on July 3 after serving less than three years of a seven-year sentence he received for burglarizing North Side businesses in 2021. He was on parole for burglary at the time of those crimes, too.
Gordon’s burglary convictions resulted in:
- 3 concurrent 7-year sentences in 2021
- 9 concurrent 14-year sentences from 2013
- 2 concurrent 7-year sentences in 2007
- 14 years for armed home invasion in 2000
- 8 years for burglary in 1996
- 8 years for burglary in 1992
- 4 years for burglary in 1990
- 5 concurrent 5-year sentences for burglary in 1988
