Two Lake County men plead guilty to charges in Gurnee-area home invasion

Two of five men accused of breaking into an occupied Gurnee-area house pleaded guilty to robbery and weapons charges Friday in Lake County court.

Eduardo Solis-Marcelo, 26, of Waukegan, pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and was sentenced to four years in prison, Assistant State's Attorney Rod Drobinski said.

Pablo Calix, 19, of Park City, pleaded guilty to felony robbery and was sentenced to 180 days in Lake County jail and 24 months of probation, Dobinski said.

As part of the plea deal, Calix is required to perform 100 hours of community service and testify against the remaining three people involved in the Feb. 18 armed robbery of a house in the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue in unincorporated Lake County near Gurnee, Drobinski said. Solis-Marcelo was not asked to do so, Drobinski said.

Javier Montes, 31, of Waukegan, and Juan Bahena-Arcos, 21, and Jose L. Villegas, 27, both of Park City, remain charged in the case.

The five allegedly broke into the house about 9:20 a.m., authorities said, then left about 20 minutes later. Authorities have not released details of what happened in the house.

After the five drove away, authorities said, a 911 caller provided police with a description of the offenders' vehicle. A vehicle matching the description was spotted at Stearns School and Dilley's roads in Gurnee and pulled over in the 5300 block of Conifer Lane after a short chase, police said.

Two men were immediately detained at the scene, authorities said, but three others ran into the surrounding subdivision.

Two were captured later that day by Lake County Sheriff's deputies and Gurnee police officers, authorities said. The third was taken into custody in Highwood the next day.

Bahena-Arcos is due back in court May 26, Villegas is due back in court May 27, and Montes is due back in court June 2. All three remain held in Lake County jail on $500,000 bail.