Carpentersville man charged in burglaries

A man whom police said had been preying on Carpentersville for the last six months with three burglaries and one armed robbery, is off the streets.

Erik R. Breceda, 20, of the 1100 block of Denver Drive in Carpentersville, is accused of:

타 Burglarizing a home on the same block as his on Dec. 26 and stealing electronics, including a police scanner, a digital camera and an Xbox.

타 Burglarizing a home in the 1200 block of Grant Street on May 11 and stealing a .22-caliber revolver and laptop.

타 Breaking into the Meineke store in the 0-100 block of North Kennedy Avenue on May 23 and stealing $1,400 in equipment and $700 cash from the register.

타 Robbing a liquor store at gunpoint in the 100 block of North Kennedy Drive on May 28. Police said Breceda made off with an undetermined amount of cash and used the same gun he’d stolen from the house on Grant Street.

Police brought Breceda in for questioning Monday because a DNA test determined the blood left at the scene of the December burglary was his, Cmdr. Tim Bosshart said. It was then that Breceda confessed to the other crimes, Bosshart said. Police subsequently arrested him Wednesday.

“That’s the thing about burglaries,” Bosshart said. “If you get one (suspect) that will talk to you, you usually can clear up a lot of burglaries.”

Also Wednesday, Carpentersville police executed a search warrant in the 900 block of Berkley Street, turning up the stolen gun, a digital scale and a jar with bullets, Bosshart said.

Jacob R. Bennett, 19, was living there, and police say they arrested him for hiding evidence and on firearm possession charges. His bail was set at $55,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court June 30 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

Meanwhile, Breceda was charged with armed robbery, two counts of residential burglary and one count of burglary. His bail was set at $700,000 and he is due in court June 30. If found guilty of armed robbery, he could spend between 30 and 60 years in prison. Probation is not an option.

Both men remained in the Kane County lockup as of Friday afternoon.