“I’m not a car thief, I’m a burglar.”
That’s what 59-year-old Frank Ortiz allegedly told Chicago police in 2023 after they caught him behind the wheel of a stolen Volkswagen Jetta. Indeed, Ortiz, a 14-time convicted felon, has always been more of a break-into-houses guy than a steal-somebody’s-car guy. He served 4½ years for that auto theft case.
Now, Ortiz is back in court, this time accused of returning to what prosecutors call his true specialty: residential burglary. Chicago police arrested him recently on charges that he broke into homes in Lakeview and Logan Square.
Around noon on April 25, a woman was in her bedroom in the 2300 block of North Albany when Ortiz entered the back door and claimed to be a Chicago police officer, prosecutors said in a detention petition. Suspicious, the woman texted her sister to call the real police.
She allegedly saw Ortiz leave with a black bag containing her valuables.
Detectives also identified Ortiz as one of the men who broke into a Lakeview home in the 1600 block of West Byron on April 4. Prosecutors said a two-man team forced its way in around 10:45 that morning and got away with an estimated $5,860 in proceeds. They allegedly took purses, jewelry, perfume, an Xbox controller, AirTags, backpacks, and even bottles of wine, according to a criminal complaint.
Judge John Hock granted prosecutors’ request to keep him detained.
Ortiz’s memorable “I’m a burglar” line first came to light in May 2023 when cops pulled him over in the 1100 block of North Cicero and found his vehicle’s identification number covered up. The black Jetta turned out to have been stolen after a burglar(!) grabbed its keys during a home break-in the previous December.
Ortiz insisted later that police misunderstood him. He claimed he merely pointed out that his prior convictions were for burglary. He also tried to distance himself from the Jetta, telling a judge, “My daughter, she got the car from somewhere.”
His rap sheet stretches back decades. In addition to the auto theft case, his previous convictions include escape from electronic monitoring in 2018, residential burglary in 2013, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number in 2011, theft in 2009, and attempted burglary in 2006. Before that, he served a 16-year sentence for residential burglary in 1999, two three-year terms for being a felon in possession of firearms in 1998, and 12 years for armed robbery in 1984.
