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Two of five men accused in Gurnee-area home invasion plead not guilty

Two of five men accused of breaking into a house near Gurnee pleaded not guilty to home invasion and other charges in Lake County court Wednesday.

Jose L. Villegas, 27, and Pablo F. Calix, 19, both from Park City, face 21 to 45 years in prison if found guilty on any of the three counts of home invasion involving a firearm they have been charged with, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Rod Drobinski said.

They also face charges of armed robbery involving a firearm, home invasion causing injury, residential burglary, aggravated robbery and robbery, officials said.

Three other defendants, Javier Montes, 31, and Eduardo Solis-Marcelo, 26, of Waukegan, and Juan Bahena-Arcos, 21, of Park City, were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in front of Judge Victoria Rossetti. However, their attorneys each asked to move the case to different courtrooms.

Montes, Bahena-Arcos, Villegas and Solis-Marcelo each remain held in Lake County jail on $500,000 bail. Calix is in jail on $400,000 bail because he has no prior convictions, Drobinski said.

Lake County Sheriff's deputies say the five men were armed Feb. 18, about 9:20 a.m., when they invaded a house in the 12000 block of Harrison Avenue in unincorporated Lake County near Gurnee.

After they left the house and drove away, a caller provided deputies with a description of the offenders' vehicle, authorities said.

A vehicle matching the description was spotted at Stearns School and Dilley's roads in Gurnee. It was pulled over after a short chase in the 5300 block of Conifer Lane.

Two men were immediately detained at the scene, authorities said, but three others ran into the surrounding subdivision.

Two were captured later that day by sheriff's deputies and Gurnee police officers, authorities said.

One was apprehended in Highwood through a joint investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Office Special Investigations Unit, Warrants Division and the U.S. Marshall's Fugitive Task Force.

Villegas and Calix were each issued tentative trial dates of June 1, Drobinski said. They are due back in court May 13.

Eduardo Solis-Marcelo
Jose L Villegas
Pablo F Calix
Juan Bahena-Arcos
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