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Police say witness foiled car theft attempt

Police say an alert Beach Park man helped foil an attempt to steal a car early Monday morning.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Mermel said three men are held on $100,000 bond after being arrested by Lake County sheriff's police.

Mermel said the witness, who lives near Liberty Auto in the 38000 block of North Sheridan Road, looked outside when he heard a car pull up near his house around 12:40 a.m. Monday.

The man watched as two people wearing hooded sweatshirts got out of the car and walked toward the auto sales lot, Mermel said.

The witness went outside with a flashlight, Mermel said, and wrote down the license number of the car and looked at the man sitting behind the steering wheel.

The man inside the car made a phone call, Mermel said, then drove toward the lot and picked up the two people who had gotten out of the car.

The witness called police, who arrived to find a 1995 Chevrolet van parked on the lot with a broken window and its steering column broken open, Mermel said.

Using the license number and the description of the driver the witness provided police, a deputy stopped the car about a mile away from the lot, Mermel said.

Anthony Navarro, 21, and Rafael Nieves, 23, both of Kenosha, and Jesus Salcedo, 30, of Chicago have all been charged with burglary in the incident.

Police said Navarro admitted they had tried to steal the van, but Nieves and Salcedo refused to answer questions.

All three are due to appear in court June 15.

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