Teens charged in Aurora car burglaries

Aurora police have charged two Aurora men with breaking into two unlocked vehicles on two separate days in late October, officials said through a news release Thursday morning.

Elwin K. Delacruz, 18, of the 2200 block of Exeter Court, and Jeremy R. Vermilyer, 17, of the 2300 block of Twilight Drive, were each charged with two counts of burglary to a motor vehicle, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor and violating curfew, said Dan Ferrelli, the director of public information for Aurora police.

The arrests occurred on Oct. 31, at about 2:15 a.m., after an Aurora police officer patrolling an area where vehicle burglaries had been recently occurring spotted the pair inside of a pickup truck at Spinnaker Rive and Rosehall Lane in the Will County section of Aurora.

When the officer went to investigate, Ferrelli said in the news release, the officer allegedly detected a strong odor of cannabis coming from the vehicle and also discovered Delacruz and Vermilyer had been drinking.

After calling for backup, the pickup truck was searched and numerous electronic items were discovered.

After questioning the subjects, Ferrelli said investigators were able to tie the pair to an Oct. 24 incident where a GPS worth $200 was stolen from an unlocked car parked in a driveway in the 1900 block of Indian Hill Lane, then an Oct. 30 burglary in which an iPod and knife valued at $350, were taken from an unlocked truck parked in a driveway in the 2400 block of Holland Court.

Officials are still investigating whether the pair is linked to other car burglaries in the area, Ferrelli said.

Aurora police are reminding residents to take valuables out of their vehicles and to lock their cars and trucks, Ferrelli said.