Lake Co. nanny denies stealing jewelry, electronics

An Ingleside woman accused of taking jewelry and electronics from a house where she was hired to be a nanny pleaded not guilty Thursday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Marta Brukas, 31, faces a mandatory prison sentence of four to 15 years if convicted of residential burglary.

Assistant State's Attorney Ryan Koehl said at the time of the offense, Brukas was out on bond after being charged with stealing $15,000 from a woman who had hired her as a caretaker.

Koehl said Brukas, of the 36000 block of North Wesley Road, was hired in April to be a nanny for a Vernon Hills woman.

The employer told police that $1,600 in jewelry, a camera worth $300 and a video game player worth $30 were taken from her home.

Vernon Hills police questioned Brukas about the missing items on May 14, Koehl said, and she admitted she had taken them.

Just four days before that interview, Brukas had pleaded guilty to theft for writing $15,000 worth of checks she stole from a 68-year-old Round Lake Beach woman who had hired her as a caretaker.

Court records show Brukas took several checks and made them out to herself between Sept. 18 and Oct. 1.

She was placed on probation for two years, but Koehl said she can be found in violation of that probation because of the new charge and resentenced to up to five years in prison.

Because Brukas was on bond for the first offense when the second was committed, any sentences Brukas receives will have to be served consecutively.

Associate Judge Theodore Potkonjak scheduled a trial of the case for July 16 and ordered Brukas, who is held on $100,000 bond, to appear in court July 6.