Elgin man convicted in St. Charles burglary

An Elgin man caught breaking into a St. Charles house in February was convicted of felony burglary this week.

Chris A. Stewart, 40, of the 600 block of Pine Street, was convicted Tuesday after a two-day trial and about an hour of jury deliberations. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Police arrested Stewart after finding him inside a house on the 400 block of Bradley Circle in St. Charles about 6:20 p.m. Feb. 12 while investigating a suspicious person report.

Stacked near the front door, police said, were several pieces of jewelry and electronics and a large, plasma-screen television. The rest of the house had been ransacked.

Police say it appeared Stewart entered through a screen and window on the back of the house. At least one other person fled the scene, but no one other than Stewart has been charged, said the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.

Stewart, who has been held in the county jail since his arrest, is scheduled to be sentenced by Associate Judge Allen M. Anderson on Oct. 3.