Robbery cut short by police

Three would-be thieves who couldn't break a store window with a brick then crashed their stolen van into an West Dundee electronics store Thursday, police said.

Three South suburban men were arrested shortly after their loud but unsuccessful attempt to rob Century Electronics, 711 S. Eighth St., at 1:40 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Justin Dean Prince, 23, of 14515 Harvey St., Harvey, Gregory L. Riley, 37, of 16620 Walcott Ave., Markham, and Craig Cordaire, 21, of 15630 S. Hoyne, Harvey, were charged with burglary and criminal damage to property, police said.

Prince also was cited for driving without a license and Riley and Cordaire were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, police said

West Dundee officer Christopher Krason had just finished his shift and was loading his gear into his car about 1:30 a.m. on the south side of the police station at 555 S. Eighth St.

He said he heard a crash and an alarm and saw that a full-sized van had backed up into and broke the front window of Century Electronics. He said he saw three men running into the store.

Krason radioed for help, and as he drove to the store, he saw the van flee and head west on Strom Drive. It turned left onto Route 31, where it was stopped by police, with a 50-inch television was in the back seat.

A surveillance camera in the store showed the three removing the television set, police said. A check showed the van was stolen in Harvey.

Bonds were set at $12,500 for Prince and $8,000 for Riley and Cordaire. They were all taken Thursday to the Kane County jail and all have Sept. 19 court dates at the Kane County Judicial Center.