Itasca man charged with home invasion, denied pre-trial release

An Itasca man accused of using an AR-15 rifle to shoot his way into an Itasca home was denied pre-trial release in a court hearing Saturday in Wheaton.

Sean Brutto, 34, of the 300 block of Prairie Circle, was charged with two counts of home invasion, a Class X felony; one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm in an occupied building, a Class 1 felony; and two Class 4 felony charges for using the AR-15.

A Class X felony is punishable by a prison or jail term of between 6-30 years. A Class 1 felony is punishable by a term of 4-15 years while Class 4 felonies are punishable by terms of 1-3 years, according to the Illinois General Assembly in February 2022.

According to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office, at about 9:15 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19, Itasca police arrived at the 800 block of Willow Court responding to a call of a man with a gun attempting to enter homes. On their way there police officers were told that shots had been fired.

The officers found Brutto in a front yard on the 700 block of Willow Court armed with an AR-15 rifle, officials said. The police ordered Brutto to drop the weapon, which he did, and to get on the ground. After taking off his coat, Brutto got on the ground and police took him into custody, officials said.

In addition to the AR-15 found with one bullet in the chamber, officials said police found an AR-15 magazine loaded with 29 rounds and a box of ammunition with 19 rounds in Brutto’s coat.

After an investigation, officials said it was suspected that Brutto fired two shots in the Itasca neighborhood, then fired another round through a rear, sliding-glass door of a residence on the 800 block of Willow Court.

Officials said the owner of the home heard the disturbance and came out of his bedroom to find Brutto on the second-floor hallway armed with the AR-15, where after a struggle the homeowner was able to disarm Brutto and throw the rifle downstairs.

Brutto ran downstairs, got the gun, took the homeowner’s cell phone and fled, officials stated.

After Judge Kishori Tank granted the state’s motion to deny Brutto a pre-trial release on Saturday, his next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 5 in DuPage County.