Carol Stream burglar gets six years in prison

A 40-year-old Carol Stream man who tried to break into a neighbor's apartment in August received a six-year prison sentence Wednesday.

Timothy E. McCoy was accused of trying to pry open a window at an apartment on the 100 block of Elk Trail in Carol Stream late in the evening Aug. 13. The woman inside the apartment was awakened by McCoy's attempt to break in and called police. A neighbor across the street also witnessed the attempted burglary and alerted authorities.

When police arrived, they spotted McCoy near the apartment and also found a tool that McCoy admitted he was using to pry the window open. McCoy lived in the same complex, court records show.

McCoy pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and was immediately sentenced to the prison stint. He must serve at least half of the sentence, prosecutors said. He also received credit for time served at the DuPage County jail in Wheaton where he has been held since Sept. 5, according to prosecutors.

McCoy has been imprisoned before for similar crimes. In 1989, he pleaded guilty to burglary charges stemming from break-ins in Downers Grove and Woodridge, according to court records.