20 years for Lombard home invasion

A man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for a Lombard home invasion that police linked him to through fingerprint evidence.

Decartys D. Montgomery admitted his guilt for the Aug. 16, 2007, crime as part of a plea deal. The 24-year-old Broadview man must serve 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

Two summers ago, a 79-year-old woman told police she was confronted by an armed man in her bedroom after midnight. Her assailant had entered her home on the 400 block of West Harding Road through an open window.

Prosecutor Ann Celine O'Hallaren said Montgomery demanded cash and, after the victim complied, told her to lie down on her bed. The woman was able to escape out the bedroom window without being injured. She fled to a neighbor's house and called 911.

Montgomery made off with about $300. O'Hallaren said he targeted the residence while working at an area fast-food restaurant and did not know the victim.

Police received a break in their investigation that next month when investigators were able to match a fingerprint in a database of convicted felons to one recovered off a metal box in the victim's home.

Montgomery confessed when arrested Sept. 21, 2007. At the time, he was on probation for two felonies involving stolen cars in 2004 and 2005. He also was on bond for a similar car case in Cook County that still is pending.

DuPage Circuit Judge Kathryn Creswell presided over Friday's plea agreement in Wheaton.