Teens capture themselves on stolen phone

Two teenage boys accused of burglarizing a Round Lake Park house while the residents were on vacation created wireless telephone video of themselves wearing stolen T-shirts, police said Wednesday.

Police Chief George Filenko said the suspects - a 14-year-old from Round Lake and a 15-year-old from Round Lake Park - took items worth $1,000 during the three trips to the home in the 400 block of Kenwood Drive, from Dec. 18 to Tuesday.

Filenko said each teen was charged with residential burglary as a juvenile. He said the boys were charged Tuesday and referred to Lake County juvenile authorities.

Police said the suspects entered through the window of a garage attached to the house to gain entry each day. The boys' haul included a 17-inch flat-screen television, cereal, vodka, gym shoes, a Sony PlayStation 2, the cellular phone used to make the video and the T-shirts, said Filenko.

A tip lead police to the 14-year-old suspect, who possessed some of the stolen goods, Filenko said. The first suspect led investigators to the 15-year-old, who had the PlayStation.

Filenko said the cell phone was among the items returned. One of the residents brought the phone back to authorities after seeing video of the suspects on the device.

"These guys actually videotaped themselves wearing the stolen T-shirts," said Filenko.

Filenko said the video quality was good, so police easily identified the accused burglars. He said the video contained a date and time stamp.

Filenko said the residents reported the burglaries at 3 a.m. Tuesday, shortly after returning home from the vacation.