CHICAGO — A woman has pleaded guilty to committing a string of burglaries from Bucktown to Lakeview and harassing a victim who posted surveillance images of her on social media. Adelaide Tamayo, 45, was even accused of stealing gifts from under a victim’s Christmas tree.
The crimes began on December 4, 2022, when Tamayo entered the vestibule of a condo building in the 800 block of West Armitage and forcibly removed a Ring doorbell camera, prosecutors said.
The Ring camera’s owner posted surveillance images of the thief to a community bulletin board, warning people to be on the lookout for the woman. Before long, the victim began receiving text messages on a phone number she included in the social media post.
“I’m going to get you, so you should watch your back,” one text read.
“I’m gonna get you, b*tch,” another said. “The police ain’t going to do sh*t. Straight.”
Prosecutors said Tamayo admitted to sending the threatening text messages.
A week after the Ring camera incident, Tamayo and an accomplice allegedly broke into a residential building in the 1900 block of North Milwaukee. They stole packages from a hallway and forced their way into storage units to take more property as video cameras rolled.
Later that day, surveillance video captured the pair stealing packages from a building vestibule and a storage area in the 3200 block of North Sheffield. According to prosecutors, one camera captured an image of the thieves’ getaway car, which bore a license plate registered to Tamayo.
Tamayo and an accomplice allegedly pried their way into an apartment building in the 2700 block of North Pine Grove on December 17, 2022, to steal more packages.
A few days later, a Lakeview man opened his bedroom door in the 2900 block of North Mildred and discovered Tamayo and an accomplice holding Christmas presents that had been under his tree, prosecutors alleged. He confronted the pair as they tried to leave and successfully knocked the packages from their hands before they fled.
Then, on New Year’s Day 2023, Tamayo and an accomplice allegedly knocked on an apartment door in the 3300 block and asked to speak with “Jason.” When the resident said they didn’t know anyone named Jason, Tamayo and her companion went to the residence’s garage, broke into a car, and took a bag, officials said. Once again, a camera recorded the break-in.
Court records show that on December 5, Tamayo pleaded guilty to six counts of burglary and one count of phone harassment before Judge Paul Pavlus. He sentenced her to four years for the burglaries and three years for the harassment charge, with the terms served concurrently. Tamayo was released on Christmas Eve after spending 13 days in prison. The state’s 50% good behavior credit and the time she spent on an ankle monitor satisfied the balance of her sentence.
No charges were ever announced against Tamayo’s alleged accomplices.
