Police dog helps capture Lake County burglary suspect
A police canine unit helped Lake County authorities capture a burglary a suspect over the weekend minutes after a break-in at a Beach Park gas station, officials said Wednesday.
Michael J. Peterson, 26, of the 1000 block of Muirfield Avenue, Waukegan, faces three counts or burglary, as well as charges of theft, criminal damage to property and resisting a peace officer, in connection with the Jan. 9 break-in at the Marathon Gas Station on Sheridan Road, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's deputies dispatched to the gas station about 3:30 a.m. Jan. 9 found signs that a burglary had recently occurred, authorities said. They quickly located 19 cartons of cigarettes, valued at more than $1,300, on the ground in the area, which had been stolen from the gas station, and found an area where the offenders likely ran, authorities said.
With the help of the Waukegan Police Department's police dog, deputies located and arrested Peterson nearby, sheriff's police said. Detectives have identified a second person of interest in this case and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
Peterson is being held in the Lake County jail on $150,000 bail and is scheduled to be in court Jan. 27.