How authorities say intruder stabbed people, dog in Buffalo Grove
A Cook County prosecutor painted a terrifying picture Friday of a home invasion in Buffalo Grove in which three people and a dog were stabbed early Wednesday, saying it could have been a triple homicide if the homeowner hadn't gotten to his gun and fired at the suspect.
Jacob William Beeman, 29, of Arkdale, Wisconsin, had been questioned as a "person of interest" since early Wednesday morning and was finally charged Friday with attempted first-degree murder, home invasion and aggravated animal cruelty. His bail was set at $2 million.
"But for the fact that (the victim) was able to obtain his gun from a safe, this could be a triple homicide before the court," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy said at Beeman's bond hearing in Rolling Meadows.
Authorities say Beeman was alone, and not with an accomplice as initially reported, when he entered the house on the 400 block of St. Mary's Parkway.
The 19-year-old son of the homeowner was playing a video game with a 16-year-old female friend and two others in a bedroom while the 46-year-old homeowner was asleep.
The girl looked out a window and saw two men walking toward the house, but no one else saw anyone when they looked.
Not long after, the window air conditioner in the bedroom was pushed in and Beeman stuck his upper body through the window wearing a bandanna over his face and black gloves while he waved a knife at the young people in the room, McCarthy said.
But Beeman quickly left and went around to kick in the front door, breaking another window along the way, she said.
Screams alerted the father, who entered the room with his German shepherd, Piston. Piston attacked but was stabbed in the neck and leg. Beeman then began attacking the father and stabbing him, McCarthy said.
The son got his hands on an Airsoft pellet gun, approached the intruder and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire.
Beeman chased the son, who was stabbed twice in the arm and once on the forehead, McCarthy said. The girl was stabbed on her hand and the top of her head.
The two other people escaped injury by locking themselves in the father's room and fleeing out a window.
Beeman left the bedroom and encountered the father again, then resumed stabbing him, McCarthy said. But the father, who has a valid firearm owners identification card, got a semiautomatic from his safe and fired one round.
Beeman left and met up with another man outside who also was wearing a bandanna on his face. That individual never entered the home and is not in custody, McCarthy said.
When Beeman gave a statement to police after his arrest, he explained that he'd gone to the house because someone named Tim told him to do a "drug rip" with him and that there were drugs, cash and guns there, McCarthy said.
Beeman, who said he was with the man named Tim at the time, scoped out the victims' house before breaking into the house, McCarthy said.
"The defendant stated he was in a rage and didn't remember stabbing anyone," McCarthy said.
She added that no drugs were found inside the home.
In setting bail, Judge Joseph Cataldo said he recognized significant violence in the defendant's behavior.
"I find he possesses a real physical threat to person or persons based on the proffer from the state," Cataldo said.
The homeowner underwent surgery for treatment of a shoulder injury and remains hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening, officials said Friday. The other two victims were treated and released.
Beeman's arrest
Officers responded to the home at 12:06 a.m. Wednesday, after a 911 caller reported two masked men with a large hunting knife had broken in and repeatedly stabbed the homeowner.
Then at 1:36 a.m., Wheeling police received a call from the clerk at the Bucky's Express Mobil gas station at the intersection of Weiland and Lake-Cook roads, saying a person there was acting suspiciously just as Buffalo Grove police were putting out information on the stabbings in their village, Wheeling Police Chief Jamie Dunne said Friday.
The police report gave this account:
The clerk reported that a shirtless and apparently intoxicated white man with a neck tattoo, now identified as Beeman, had come in and used the phone and then was standing in front of the station and asking other people for rides. Police smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Beeman's breath and observed that he had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. An officer also saw what appeared to be dried blood on his neck and right arm for which he could not provide an explanation.
As information continued to come in about the Buffalo Grove stabbings, a description of an offender was broadcast that matched Beeman's description, down to the flame tattoo on his neck. A blue Toyota Camry arrived carrying two people who said they'd been called by the man but who said they had not been with him earlier that morning.
Beeman repeatedly put his hands in his pockets when asked not to but denied having any weapons or contraband. Because of the match with the description of the Buffalo Grove offender, officers patted Beeman down and found a large dagger-style knife inside his left boot underneath his pant leg.
The officers then handcuffed Beeman and continued the search, which led to the discovery of his driver's license, which had a different name than he had been using with police and with the people who came to pick him up. They also found several bandannas.
At that point, Buffalo Grove police arrived and took all three into custody in connection with their investigation. The other two people were released after questioning.
Beeman's next court date is Sept. 1
Beeman's past
Police said Beeman also is wanted in Wisconsin by the Department of Corrections for charges relating to resisting a peace officer.
According to an article in the Waushara Argus newspaper, Beeman was taken into custody on May 3, 2015, on charges of recklessly endangering safety and battery to a law enforcement officer after punching a deputy in Adams County, Wisconsin. Deputies reported that Beeman had a knife that cut the victim's face. Stun guns were used in his arrest.
Beeman also had a harassment restraining order filed against him by a woman in Adams County, Wisconsin, on June 27 of this year, records show. He had a prior temporary restraining order for domestic abuse filed against him by a different woman in Adams County on March 24, 2008.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family pay the veterinary bills for their German shepherd, Piston. The page had raised more than its original goal of $6,000 by Friday afternoon. But Amanda Busch, a friend of the family who set up the page, said late Friday that the estimate of the dog's medical costs has risen to $7,800. The page is at gofundme.com/2j338278.
• Daily Herald staff writers Erin Hegarty and James Kane contributed to this report.