Captured burglar gets five-year sentence

A Lake in the Hills man caught hiding under a neighbor's bed in a botched burglary was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

Jose F. Rios-Salazar, 22, received a term one year above the minimum for the residential burglary charge on which a McHenry County jury convicted him after a three-day trial in July.

The charge stemmed from an April 17 incident in which police said Rios-Salazar broke into a neighbor's condominium in the 1300 block of Cunat looking for money and other valuables.

The home's owner returned from walking her dogs during the middle of the break-in and found Rios-Salazar under her bed. He fled after being discovered, taking about $150 of the woman's cash with him.

Lake in the Hills police arrested Rios-Salazar a short time later when an officer arrived just as the woman was confronting him in the condominium complex's parking lot.

The woman testified during a sentencing hearing Wednesday that she often feels nervous and afraid in her home. She recalled an incident in August in which she called police after spotting a shoe out of place and fearing an intruder must have moved it.

"(Almost) every day I check under my bed," she said. "I search my own place even though I have an alarm. I don't feel comfortable."

Rios-Salazar chose not to speak on his own behalf, but defense lawyer Margi Worth asked for the four-year minimum, describing him as a hardworking family man with a spotless record before April.

"There is absolutely no criminal history for this defendant," Worth said.

With credit for the 168 days spent in the McHenry County jail since his arrest and likely day-for-day credit in prison, Rios-Salazar could be eligible for parole in about two years.