A 32-year-old man with multiple prior burglary convictions has been charged with five residential break-ins and an aggravated robbery carried out across several North Side neighborhoods.
Malcolm Junious is accused of committing five separate crimes between June 15 and October 21, including a robbery that targeted a woman inside her home, according to court records. Judge James Murphy III ordered him detained after prosecutors noted his extensive criminal history, which includes multiple felony burglary convictions.
The first reported incident occurred on June 15 in the 800 block of West Cuyler Avenue, when victims discovered a handgun, a Nintendo Switch, $10,000 in cash, and $75,000 in jewelry missing. Surveillance footage showed the burglar carrying a white clipboard, and a CPD officer who saw the video recognized Junious from a prior arrest. Investigators later tied Junious’ phone to the burglary through pawnshop records and the device’s GPS data.
Detectives began to suspect Junious was responsible for a string of burglaries, and on October 17, a court authorized a “pen register” for Junious’s phone, prosecutors said. That’s a surveillance tool that records numbers dialed or called from a specific phone and tracks its general activity in real time. Using the data, detectives saw Junious’s phone traveling toward Chicago on October 21, prosecutors said in a detention filing. That afternoon, several burglaries were reported across the North Side.
In the 1600 block of West Rascher Avenue, a 32-year-old woman reported that a masked man confronted her inside her home, claimed to have a gun, and warned her not to “make” him hurt her. Another woman heard the victim screaming and began calling 911, but the intruder knocked the phone from her hand, stomped on it, and fled with a jewelry box, prosecutors said.
Cops tracking Junious through his phone and via license plate readers located his Kia near the 1400 block of West Ardmore Avenue, prosecutors said. But they lost sight of it for about 30 minutes.
During that time, a woman returned home in the 1500 block of West Ardmore Avenue to find someone had climbed exterior scaffolding to enter her apartment. The intruder stole a backpack, jewelry, watches, and a keepsake of her deceased cat.
Within two hours, another resident in the 5300 block of North Paulina Street reported that someone entered through an unlocked rear window and took a MacBook, a Bluetooth speaker, and a Nintendo Switch.
Officers eventually located the Kia again as it headed south on Lake Shore Drive in Streeterville. Using a helicopter and ground units, they followed it until Junious got out in the 7100 block of South Coles Avenue, prosecutors said. The police found Junious hiding under a barbecue grill cover on a back stairwell. They said he had the proceeds from the burglaries in his possession.
Prosecutors charged Junious with five counts of residential burglary and one count of aggravated robbery.
His previous convictions include residential burglaries in Wrigleyville in 2020.
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