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Man charged in connection with Streamwood car burglaries

A man awaiting trial on charges of possessing drug paraphernalia faces new charges in connection with a series of car burglaries that occurred in Streamwood between March 16 and April 19.

Pawel Piotrowski, 34, of Genoa, is charged with six counts of theft, one count of forgery and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding. He was ordered held on $100,000 bail. That includes $5,000 the judge imposed for Piotrowski violating the bail bond in his pending case, prosecutors said.

On April 20, Streamwood police investigated a report of a suspicious vehicle on the 0-100 block of Sequoia Court. They encountered Piotrowski, who was wearing a winter hat, a face wrap, gloves and dark clothes, said Cook County assistant state's attorney Jennifer Gates.

In the car were binoculars, a crowbar and bolt cutters, Gates said. After receiving consent to search the car, officers found sunglasses, a laser level and other items, Gates said.

A few days later, officers obtained receipts for transactions from an Elgin pawn shop indicating a sale of two pairs of sunglasses for $60, Gates said. They also obtained receipts for a laser level, radar detector and other items sold to a Streamwood pawnshop for $62, Gates said. Authorities said the pawn ticket showed the transaction was made in the name of the defendant's twin brother, who was incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections at the time of the sale, Gates said.

The clerk identified Piotrowski and video surveillance showed him making the transaction, said Gates, adding that the pawnshop items were identified as property taken from the vehicles.

On April 27, police observed Piotrowski violating a traffic law and attempted to stop him. Piotrowski did not stop and eluded police by driving 75 mph in a 25 mph zone, Gates said.

Police took Piotrowski into custody on Monday. He told officers "known burglars" gave him the property taken from the vehicles in exchange for drugs, Gates said.

Piotrowski's background includes convictions from 2006, 2005 and 2002 for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, for which he received sentences ranging from 3 to 20 years, Gates said. He also has resisting arrest convictions from 2005 and a resisting arrest case from DuPage County.

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