Man charged in two overnight home burglaries in Batavia
A 20-year-old Batavia man has been arrested and charged with two overnight burglaries in the past week in Batavia.
Tobias F. Granberg, of the 100 block of North Mallory Avenue, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of felony residential burglary, and one count each of burglary, forgery and unlawful use of a credit card, according to Batavia police and Kane County court records.
The charges stem from overnight burglaries Friday on the 700 block of Houston Street, and Monday on the 300 block of Whipple Avenue, according to police.
In the Houston Street burglary, residents told police they saw the offender about 4:30 to 4:50 a.m. standing at their bedroom door. The homeowner, who could not see the man's face, mistakenly thought it was his son and had a brief conversation with him, police said.
But a few moments later, the homeowners decided to check the rest of their house and saw the door leading to the garage and basement was open. They discovered that large and small electronics had been stolen, and their car parked in the driveway had its dome light on and had been ransacked, police said. Credit cards also were stolen from their wallets inside the house, according to police.
In the Whipple Avenue burglary, residents reported a cellphone and cash had been stolen between 8:30 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday. The victims suspected the offender came in through the attached garage because the overhead door had been left open, police said.
Granberg's bail was set at $50,000 Wednesday, meaning he must post $5,000 to be released while the case is pending. He is next due in court June 21 and if convicted of the most severe charge of residential burglary, he faces a penalty of probation to up to 15 years in prison.
At the time of his arrest, Granberg had two pending misdemeanor cases in Kane County, according to court records. The first was for an April 10 retail theft in Batavia and the second was for criminal trespass to a house and vehicle on the 42W400 block of Keslinger Road near Elburn, records show.