Man charged with several Round Lake burglaries

A 28-year-old Round Lake Beach man has been charged with multiple burglaries committed between August and November of 2008 in Round Lake, police said.

Antonio Ortega, of the 1600 block of Melrose Avenue, was arrested on charges of the burglary of a residence on Nov. 8, said Round Lake Police Chief Clifton Metaxa.

However, police said, an investigation has linked him to three other crimes in town, officials said.

Ortega has been charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle, one count of felony theft and two counts of criminal damage to property.

If convicted on all charges, Ortega will spend a minimum of three years behind bars. Because of the number of counts and charges against him, police were unclear Thursday on the maximum penalty Ortega could face, officials said.

Ortega currently is being held in Lake County jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.

He was served with the charges Monday while being incarcerated in Lake County jail on an unrelated matter, officials said.

Metaxa said Ortega was arrested after stealing two motor vehicles from a Round Lake garage on Nov. 8 and using one of the vehicles to ram a fence at the Ace Hardware on Railroad Avenue.

Police said both vehicles were recovered and, through blood samples, were linked back to Ortega.

Also, during the course of the investigation, Round Lake police detectives found evidence that Ortega had been responsible for a handful of other thefts and property crimes in Round Lake, authorities said.

Ortega has been linked to a burglary at Calvary Presbyterian Church, 510 N. Cedar Lake Road in Round Lake, on Aug. 31; the theft of a generator from Ace Hardware on Railroad Avenue on Oct. 1; and the possession of a stolen vehicle from La Luz Bakery, at 246 N. Cedar Lake Drive, on Nov. 5.

Those are independent crimes, officials said.

"Round Lake is a quiet community and these incidents were especially alarming," Metaxa said. "I am very proud of the hard work and dedication of the Round Lake Police Department Criminal Investigation Section members in solving these crimes."