Some of the burglars that have been breaking into Sun City homes for the past four years finally got caught – in upstate New York state.
Huntley Police Chief John Perkins told a community neighborhood group on Sept. 10 that several members of a group of self-described Polish gypsies were caught in the act of burglarizing a home in an upstate New York community a few weeks ago.
“We just found out about this from New York officials a couple of weeks ago,” Perkins said. “We were also told that one of them, a young woman who we believe has been involved in Sun City break-ins, committed suicide at the time of her arrest.”
Perkins added that New York authorities obtained a search warrant that allowed them to track cell phone use.
“One of the offenders used his own cell phone instead of the throwaway ones that most of these people use that are impossible to trace,” he said. “We have not been able to get a judge in Illinois to allow us to track cell phones in this way.”
Perkins spoke at a meeting of about 60 Neighborhood 10 and 10a residents in Fountain View Center. He reminded the group that law enforcement agencies from Huntley and other area towns know who some of these offenders are but have been unable to file any charges against them because of a lack of physical evidence linking them to the crime scenes.
“These people range throughout the Midwest, western states, and northeastern states, and they hit homes at unpredictable times,” he said. “They took a hit in New York, but they will regroup and continue on. They do this for a living. The New York arrests are good to hear, but they don’t mean the threat is over.
“They also have a way of dealing with adversity. They have lawyers who will come to the home of a victim and offer them $10,000, if they will not file charges for a $5,000 burglary,” he said.
He did not say if such an incident has occurred in connection with any Sun City break-ins.
Perkins again credited Sun City’s Neighborhood Watch and Neighbors Helping Neighbors groups for providing additional “eyes and ears” to the police. He also has credited them with helping to reduce the frequency of break-ins in the last two years. Huntley Police have increased patrols and used volunteer groups to provide additional patrols, are coordinating with other law enforcement jurisdictions investigating similar crimes, and are offering home security surveys to Huntley citizens.
Sun City is viewed by these people as a target-rich environment, he said, because of the recessed front doors that are not prominently visible from the street, and the fact that most residents are primarily active at the rear of their homes, and sometimes are not alert to threats at the front of them. Most of the 24 break-ins reported in Sun City since 2011 have occurred in areas around Cold Springs Drive in neighborhoods 3 and 7, he added.
The chief again distributed a list of things residents can do to safeguard their homes and “make them less appealing to these criminals.”
The suggestions include purchasing a safe in which to keep jewelry and cash, photographing jewelry to help with identification, storing jewelry somewhere other than the master bedroom, installing an alarm system, leaving a TV or radio on while on a short trip, reinforcing a basement window or sliding glass door with a crossbar or piece of wood, parking a second car in the driveway when leaving on a short trip (take the garage door opener out of the car), and/or obtaining a door wedge or a wedge alarm.
“When you leave for an errand or appointment during the way,drive around the block and then return to check for intruders,” he said. “These people watch for a homeowner to pull away from their home, and then enter the home.
“Lock your doors and windows, which may seem obvious,” the chief concluded. “But several of the Sun City burglaries were done through unlocked doors and windows.”
