Round Lake Beach police issue warning after 10 arrested for theft
Round Lake Beach police officials sent out a special phone message to residents Thursday, telling them they can help deter theft rings by locking their car doors at night.
The reason for the call? Police Chief Doug Larsson said 10 people were arrested in Round Lake Beach this week after they were linked to 30 vehicle burglaries during July.
The thieves, he said, all preyed on unlocked cars in darkened neighborhoods in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
"The connect CTY system we used is new in the village and the best way to get information out to the public quickly," Larsson said. "These thieves walk through dark neighborhoods and open doors that are not locked and steal everything inside. So, we wanted to send out a quick message telling everyone to lock their doors at night."
He said he decided to make the call after officers checked vehicles in neighborhoods Wednesday night and found 90 percent were unlocked.
"These thieves simply walk up to a car and try the door handle to see if the car is locked," Larsson said. "If it's locked, they just move on to another car. If it's not locked, they take everything in the car, shut the door, then walk away."
The 10 suspects are all 20 years old and younger. They are: Rashon Jackson, 18, no known address; Anthony Seminary, 20, no known address; Bennie Lentz, 18, 1421 Ridgeway Drive, Round Lake Beach; Christopher Frost, 19, 608 E. Clarendon Road, Round Lake Beach; Aaron Keith, 17, 209 S. Pike Road, Palatine, IL; Alexander Wick, 19, 726 Ridgewood, Antioch; Kevin Grant, 18, 2709 Neubauer Circle, Lindenhurst; James Russell, 18, 424 N. Crooked Lake Drive, Lindenhurst. Two juveniles also were arrested.
Jackson and one juvenile were charged with one burglary in Round Lake Beach and another in Lake Villa. Seminary, Lentz, Frost and another juvenile were charged with 18 car burglaries in Kenosha County, two in Round Lake Beach, one in Round Lake Park and one in unincorporated Lake County.
Keith was charged with one car burglary in Round Lake Beach, while Wick, Grant and Russell were charged with four in Round Lake Beach.
Police are warning residents to remove all possessions from their cars, and to park in well lighted areas. They also stressed the need to properly light homes and make sure all doors are locked at night.
Deputy Chief Rich Chiarello said people should also be willing to fill out a police report if they think anything has been stolen out of their car.
Often, he said, people are embarrassed to tell police they did not lock their cars at night, and don't report stolen property.
"We are the police and we will not laugh at you or anything," Chiarello said. "But, we need to know if something has been stolen so we can help track down thieves like this."