Three suspects charged in Rolling Meadows home invasion

Three men are being held in the Cook County jail on $1 million bail each facing home invasion charges stemming from the assault and robbery of an elderly woman Tuesday in her Rolling Meadows home, police said Thursday.

The three are among five people taken into custody Tuesday after a chase which ended when the suspects' car ran into a tree in Schaumburg, Rolling Meadows police said.

Charged are Vladimir Georges, 21, of Palatine; Justin Cortes, 20, of Chicago; and Robert Cutler, 31, of Hoffman Estates.

A fourth person, Sarah Wendy, 22, of Glenview, is charged with fleeing and eluding. Her bail was set at $200,000 Thursday, according to police. A 24-year-old woman was released without charges, police said.

Police gave this account:

About 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, three men knocked on a door in the 2400 block of Cardinal Drive, saying they were from a local church and requesting donations.

The men grabbed the woman when she answered the door and forced her back into the house, where she was knocked down. They demanded money and took items from the house, then fled in a vehicle.

An officer responding to a 911 call from the victim saw a vehicle containing people who matched the suspects' descriptions and attempted to make a traffic stop. The vehicle fled southbound on Route 53 and exited onto westbound Higgins Road in Schaumburg, where it crashed into a tree.

The occupants ran into the Streets of Woodfield parking lot, where they were arrested by officers from Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and Streamwood.

Authorities said the woman was treated at a hospital for nonlife threatening injuries.

Police continue to investigate why the elderly woman's residence was targeted.