Benton Township woman charged in Warren Township home invasion

A woman accused of assisting in the robbery of three people during a Warren Township home invasion is being held in Lake County jail on $200,000 bail, authorities said.

Laura R. Townsend, 22, of the 10700 block of West 17th Street in Benton Township, was arrested Tuesday by the Lake County sheriff's Warrants Team and the U.S. Marshals Service-Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, authorities said.

Townsend is charged with felony counts of home invasion and residential burglary. If found guilty, she can be sentenced up to 30 years in prison.

Sheriff's deputies were called to the 18500 block of West Main Street at 1 a.m. May 21 by three people who said two men and a woman entered their house with handguns and robbed them.

The victims said they were robbed of their cellular phones and money, authorities said. One victim also said a male offender struck him in the face with a gun. His injuries were not serious and did not require hospitalization, authorities said.

Detectives later determined Townsend was involved, authorities said, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

The case remains under investigation, and authorities continue to try to identify the two men, who left the scene in a tan SUV. They were described as white or Hispanic, both approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall, in their late 20s or early 30s.

Anyone with information should call the sheriff's office at (847) 377-4250 or Lake County Crime Stoppers at (847) 662-2222 or submit an online crime-tip at lakecountyil.gov/209/Sheriffs-Office