$45,000 bond set for man accused of car break-ins

A Cook County judge set bond at $45,000 Wednesday for a 28-year-old Schaumburg man charged in a string of car break-ins this month in Rolling Meadows.

Police charged Kirk Ariciogu, of the 2600 block of Pirates Cove, with burglary for allegedly breaking into cars to steal navigational systems known as GPS. Burglary is a class 2 felony that carries a sentence of three to seven years.

The first burglary occurred June 1 in the 4300 block of Lincoln Avenue in Rolling Meadows, said Assistant State's Attorney Ryan Whitney. Others followed on June 18 in the 5100 block of Tollview Drive and on June 19 in the 600 block of Hills Road, Whitney said.

In each instance, another person served as lookout while Ariciogu broke a window to retrieve the navigation system, Whitney said.

An investigation led police to consider Ariciogu a suspect, Whitney said. Working with Elmhurst police, Rolling Meadows police set up surveillance Wednesday in Schaumburg. They approached the defendant in the 1000 block of Plaza Drive in Schaumburg where he "intentionally struck a police vehicle and fled," Whitney said.

Rolling Meadows police caught up with him in Elgin. A spokesman declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. Elmhurst police did not respond to a phone call.

Ariciogu's background includes convictions for theft and forgery in 2000, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison, and a 2005 conviction for residential burglary, for which he received four years in prison, Whitney said.

Ariciogu next appears in court July 21.