Suspect in Mount Prospect home burglary captured on video has long criminal record
A man with an extensive criminal record is charged in the July 23 residential burglary in Mount Prospect recorded on home surveillance video and released to the public.
Scott A. Weissert, 55, of the 1200 block of North Waterman in Arlington Heights, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of residential burglary - a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, Mount Prospect police said Wednesday.
Weissert has 18 felony convictions dating to 1981. His most recent came in 2006 when he was sentenced to 20 years for burglary. He was on parole for that case when he was arrested in connection with the Mount Prospect break-in.
Mount Prospect police officer Greg Sill said the new case against Weissert was built from tips from people who saw the video publicly released Monday and believed him to be the intruder.
The following day, investigators issued a search warrant at Weissert's residence and found items connecting him to the July 23 burglary, they said. He was taken into custody just outside his residence.
The department issued an official thank-you to the public for its assistance in identifying a suspect.
Weissert appeared in court Wednesday where his bail was set at $200,000. His next hearing is 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Cook County Courthouse in Rolling Meadows.
Before 2006, Weissert's most recent conviction was in 1996, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
All but one of his convictions are for burglary, and all resulted in prison time.
In 1984, he was convicted of 10 burglaries. He was ordered to serve the sentences concurrently.
Mount Prospect police responded to a call of a residential burglary on the 300 block of North William Street at 12:01 p.m. July 23.
A 16-year-old girl was home alone when an intruder who had knocked on the front door several times forced the door open.
Bonnie Bridges, the girl's mother, said she was 8 miles away when her daughter called her about the stranger knocking at their door.
She used a cellphone app to turn on the "Canary" camera mounted on her home entertainment center facing the front door. And when she saw the door burst open, she immediately called 911.
Her daughter had locked herself in an upstairs bedroom and screamed when the man attempted to enter the room where she was hiding. Her screams caused the man to immediately flee the house.
By the end of the next day, the family had a full security system installed in the house, Bonnie Bridges said.