Mount Prospect man sentenced in car burglaries

A 26-year-old Mount Prospect man was sentenced last week to two years probation and 30 days in Cook County Jail for a series of car burglaries authorities say he committed last year in unincorporated Des Plaines.

Authorities say Justin Cookson, of the 1700 block of Forest Cove Drive, committed the burglaries in the early morning hours of Oct. 7, 2009. Des Plaines police questioned Cookson after they say he exhibited suspicious behavior shortly after the robberies. Police recovered a GPS system, iPods and jewelry.

After Cookson admitted committing several other break-ins that day in unincorporated Cook County, police contacted the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department which launched its own investigation, said a sheriff's department spokesman.

Cookson told sheriff's police detectives that he began breaking into cars in May 2009 after losing his job, said the spokesman.