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Man denies charges in pair of home invasions

An Antioch man charged in a pair of home invasions pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Miguel Rico, 19, of the 1100 block of McKenzie Road, faces the possibility of hundreds of years in prison if convicted of all charges against him in the break-ins Sept. 1 in Lake Villa and Sept. 8 in Antioch Township.

Police said Rico went into a home in Lake Villa through an open garage door and was stealing property throughout the house when a 20-year-old resident arrived.

Rico confronted the victim with a gun, bound him with duct tape and zip ties, then fled with the stolen property in the victim's Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The car was set on fire and abandoned a few miles from the residence, police said.

A week later, police said, Rico entered Antioch Township home brandishing a knife and tied up a man and a woman with duct tape. A teenager in the house was sexually assaulted, officials said, before Rico loaded up the man's Nissan Altima with stolen items and fled.

Rico was arrested a day later when a resident in the 1300 block of Longwood Drive saw the Altima parked in front of an abandoned house in the Round Lake Beach neighborhood and recognized it from news accounts.

Police went to the area and discovered Rico was using the house to hide the stolen goods and took him into custody.

He is charged with multiple counts of home invasion, armed violence, aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated unlawful restraint.

Most of those crimes carrying mandatory prison sentences of six to 30 years, and a judge could order that Rico serve several consecutive sentences, Assistant State's Attorney Reginald Matthews said.

Circuit Judge Fred Foreman scheduled a trial of the case for Jan. 3 and ordered Rico, who is held on $2.5 million bond, to appear in court Dec. 1.