Ex-cop working as school security officer charged with breaking into kids’ bedroom in Bloomingdale

A former Bensenville police officer has lost a job as a high school security officer after being accused of breaking into the bedroom of two Bloomingdale children in the middle of the night.

The Fenton High School District 100 school board terminated Carmen Mirandola on Wednesday night. In a letter to parents, the district announced it had fired someone who was involved in a Nov. 8 “law enforcement incident.”

The incident was a home invasion, according to charges filed against Mirandola in DuPage County Circuit Court.

In addition to the home invasion charge, Mirandola, 40, of Bloomingdale, is charged with aggravated assault of a peace officer, disorderly conduct and animal cruelty.

According to a prosecutor’s petition to have him detained pretrial, Mirandola is accused of breaking into the bedroom of two children, ages 10 and 11, around 2:56 a.m. on Nov. 8 at a Bloomingdale home.

The children’s father heard a noise and found Mirandola in the kids’ room, according to the petition for detention filed by prosecutors. The father managed to grab one of the children and exit.

Mirandola went into the bedroom closet and refused to come out at the request of police, who then used a police dog, the petition said.

According to the charges, he hit an officer and the police dog, Ace.

Mirandola was taken to a hospital because he said he was not feeling well. He suffered a “medical incident” due to having too much carbon dioxide in his lungs and heart, and was put into a coma and intubated. Hospital workers told police that it was because he had overdosed on cocaine and amphetamines, according to the detention petition.

The detention petition says police found evidence of cocaine in his vehicle, as well as fireworks, ammunition, a ballistic plate for a bulletproof vest and police badges.

They found more ammunition in his house, aluminum foil placed on several windows and a Bensenville police bulletproof vest.

Judge Joshua Dieden ordered that Mirandola be detained until his next court date, which is Dec. 8.

Mirandola was a probationary Fenton employee. He was hired Sept. 2 after undergoing a criminal-background check, according to the district’s spokesman.

State records indicate Mirandola was a Bensenville officer for 10 years until November 2023.

Prosecutor honored

Marsy’s Law for Illinois has given DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin its Champion of Victims’ Rights Award for his “long-standing commitment to empowering crime victims.”

“Bob Berlin was instrumental to ensuring the language in the Illinois version of Marsy’s Law made sense for our state and would result in the best possible outcomes for crime victims and those who work with them,” said Jennifer Bishop Jenkins, state director for Marsy's Law for Illinois. “He and his office have continued to take a trauma-informed approach to helping victims navigate the criminal justice system, including his latest innovation of adding a facility dog to his office.”

The organization said Berlin was a “leading presence” in getting Marsy’s Law approved in Illinois and strongly emphasizes victim services and enforcement of victims’ rights, especially their right to obtain restitution in some cases.

“Treating crime victims with the dignity and respect they deserve has been and always will be a top priority for me and my team,” Berlin said in the news release announcing the award.

Marsy’s Law calls for victims of crimes to have certain rights, including the right to be notified of specific public proceedings throughout criminal cases, and to be present and heard during those proceedings. It is named after a California woman who was killed by an ex-boyfriend. Her relatives were confronted by him at a grocery store a week after her funeral; the family was unaware he had been released on bail.

Practice your penmanship?

Clear communication is important. Even when you are robbing a bank.

An unarmed man accused of robbing an Elk Grove Village bank Oct. 30 did not make that abundantly clear to a teller at first, because she did not understand the note he passed to her.

“Teller A had a hard time reading the note as the handwriting was messy,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent filed in the case, which is being tried in federal court. The teller had to read it several times before she realized the bank was being robbed, and thought the note said something to the effect of “no bad money.”

What the note said was: “I need everything in the drawers no games no die packs fast and no one gets hurt.”

• Have a question, comment or story idea? Email us at copsandcrime@dailyherald.com.