SUN CITY – Though this winter has seen less burglar activity than recent years – there were 10 burglaries between January 2011 and May 2012 – all is not quiet on the crime front.
A different group of burglars has entered homes that are vacant, for sale, and foreclosures.
During the week of April 7, two Sun City homes were burglarized – one in the 13000 block of White Oak in Neighborhood 29 and the other in the 12000 block of Castle Rock Drive in Neighborhood 31. Both residences are vacant and for sale in foreclosure. Taken were large appliances such as stoves, washers, dryers, and similar items.
“These incidents were not the work of the people who have been burglarizing Sun City homes in the past,” Sgt. Michael Hewitt of the Huntley Police said. “These two Sun City homes are among several others in the village that have been hit this way. These people obviously use large vehicles and heavy equipment to accomplish what they want.”
He added that since the homes are vacant, there is an extended time lapse between the break in and notification to the police.
“Since these homes are in foreclosure, the banks hire a company to check on them periodically,” Hewitt said. “It often is several days after the break-in occurs before we find out. Typically, homes are checked once a week. We don’t know yet if the incidents occurred at night or daytime. We have canvassed the neighboring areas but have not been able to get too much information.”
Because of the ongoing investigation, Hewitt declined to say if any physical evidence has been found in the Sun City homes.
In a previous interview with Huntley authorities regarding earlier burglaries in Sun City, more information about the group of burglars active in Sun City for a couple of years was revealed.
They have been slowed down by police interrogations and relentless investigation, but not stopped.
“This is strange. We know who at least some of these people are, and they know that we know,” Huntley Police Chief John Perkins said recently. “We have questioned them, and we have some physical evidence, but we don’t have enough yet to make an arrest and get a conviction.”
There have been two break-ins in the last seven months in Sun City homes, he said. The last one occurred in early December, 2012, in a home on Black Oak Trail in Neighborhood 7. The offenders pried open a window to gain entry and stole jewelry and cash from the empty home. In the other incident last September, a door was left open by the residents, with similar losses.
“We are glad to say we have slowed them down, but we are disappointed to say that we haven’t stopped them,” Perkins said. “We are working with an area task force on this because this group operates in several states. They are very good at what they do, particularly in leaving behind little or no physical evidence. They operate almost every day, but not in the same town or area. It is very difficult to predict where they will strike next. They always steal jewelry and/or cash. So we again advise residents to protect those assets, as well as their homes.
In most instances, they watch a house for a while, wait until they see a car drive out of the garage and go away, and then they approach the house. They ring the doorbell to make sure no one answers, and then they enter by prying open a door or window. They have been lucky so far; we hope they make a mistake sometime soon.”
Perkins believes part of the reason the number of incidents has declined in Sun City is that residents have become more diligent in protecting their homes.
“Some residents have told us they have found some evidence of an unsuccessful attempt to gain entry,” he said. “Residents that have fortified their door jams, installed devices that make it difficult or impossible to push a door open, or installed alarms are finding that it pays off.”
The suspect group operates in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, in addition to Illinois, Perkins said.
The break-ins began in Sun City in April, 2011, and so far 17 community homes have been burglarized. Except for the last two, the incidents have occurred during daylight hours, usually in the morning. The group rents cars frequently and does not operate in a certain area with the same vehicle more than once, Perkins said.
