CHICAGO — A Lakeview couple is dealing with an absolute nightmare. First, two burglars broke into their home on Friday morning. Then, they learned that the police hadn’t even tried to collect surveillance footage in the area — footage that contains crystal-clear images of two suspects. But the victims have done a lot of investigative legwork on their own, even identifying one likely suspect by name.
The break-in occurred between 10:30 a.m. and 10:55 a.m. on Friday, April 4, in the 1600 block of West Byron.
Video gathered by homeowners shows two men walking down the alley and entering through their back gate. The men seem to know exactly where they’re going.
“They can be seen attempting to gain entry by checking windows and trying to scale a fence into our neighbor’s yard,” one of the homeowners told us. The couple asked to remain anonymous for this story. “They gained entry into our unit by standing on the HVAC unit and entering through our kitchen window, which had been closed.”
The couple suspects the burglars may have been casing the neighborhood before committing the break-in.
“They chose the exact 45-minute window when my fiancé, who typically works from home, stepped out for a brief period,” one of the victims said. “This suggests they may have been monitoring our routine before deciding to break in.”
“There was no effort made to gather camera footage from neighbors or pursue any potential leads,” she explained. “As a result, the information we received was primarily the result of the efforts of our neighbors, family, and friends, who essentially stepped in to carry out the work law enforcement should have.”
The victims have done so much legwork that they may have even identified one of the burglars by name. Court records show he was convicted of an attempted burglary in West Rogers Park in 2014. He has other theft-related arrests in his background, too. We’re not naming him here because he is not charged with the Lakeview break-in. Not yet, at least.
