Jury pins LITH burglary on neighbor

A 22-year-old Lake in the Hills man faces a minimum four-year prison term after a McHenry County jury found him guilty of breaking into a neighbor's residence only to be caught red-handed when its owner returned home to find him under her bed.

Jurors deliberated about 2 hours today before convicting Jose F. Rios-Salazar of a residential burglary charge alleging he broke into a condominium in the 1300 block of Cunat on April 17 and stole $150 before fleeing upon the owner's arrival.

Rios-Salazar, 1355 Cunat, Apt. 2B, was arrested a short time later when police arrived - just as he tried to drive away while the home's female owner confronted him.

The verdict ended a three-day trial in which Rios-Salazar's defense tried to convince jurors that his arrest was a case of mistaken identity. His attorney, Margi Worth, noted that there was no fingerprint or other forensic evidence placing Rios-Salazar at the crime scene.

"You have no evidence Jose Rios-Salazar was in that home (other than) a very generic description," she said during closing arguments today. "All that you heard does not amount to proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

But prosecutors said dog hair like that found under the victim's bed was on Rios-Salazar's clothing after his arrest and the victim's unflinching identification was proof he was the intruder.

"His image is burned in her mind," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs said.

Because of a hold placed on him by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rios-Salazar will remain in custody at the McHenry County jail until his Oct. 1 sentencing. He faces a maximum 15 years in prison.