Car window broken. (Photo by Getty Images)
Reporting Catherine Catalane
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ANTIOCH, Ill. (STMW) – A 25-year-old Gurnee man and three juveniles were arrested for a “car hopping” spree that allegedly ran through a half dozen area communities.
Police recovered 133 items stolen from unlocked cars.
Harold Caesar, 25, of the 7100 block of Presidential Drive, Gurnee, was charged with four counts of burglary to a motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony, which is punishable by three to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. His bond was set at $50,000.
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Antioch Police Chief Craig Somerville said Thursday the investigation began when a parent found their 16-year-old son in possession of stolen property and notified police June 17.
The police investigation found the group had been “car hopping” — offenders walking through subdivisions checking for unlocked cars — for the past eight weeks.
Somerville said the group is responsible for 20 separate break-ins within the village of Antioch and have been implicated in similar thefts in Lake Forest, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Round Lake Beach, and Kenosha and Lake counties.
Detectives were able to recover 133 items that were stolen from Antioch residents’ vehicles over the past eight weeks, which included iPods, sun glasses, lap top computers, watches, GPS units, loose change and cash.
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