Former Mundelein trustee Dakotah Norton faces burglary charge
A former Mundelein trustee with a history of legal problems is behind bars on new criminal charges.
Dakotah Norton, 29, of the 500 block of Woodcrest Drive in Mundelein, was arrested Friday and charged with felony residential burglary and misdemeanor battery.
Norton entered an ex-girlfriend's house on the 500 block of North Prairie Avenue in Mundelein without permission on Aug. 5 and took undisclosed items, Mundelein police said.
When a child confronted Norton inside the house, Norton pushed the child out of the way to leave, Police Chief Eric Guenther said. The child wasn't injured.
Warrants were issued for Norton's arrest Friday, and he was taken into custody later that day at the village farmers market, police said.
An emergency order of protection was filed against Norton, too, Lake County court records indicate.
Norton remained in custody Monday at the Lake County jail on $75,000 bail. He is next scheduled to be in court Wednesday. A public defender has been assigned to his case.
The case remains under investigation, police said.
Norton served on the village board from 2015 to 2017. He quit after repeated controversies, including a 2015 drunken driving conviction and a long string of missed meetings leading up to his eventual resignation.
Norton had a lengthy police record as a teenager.
In the most serious case, Norton was charged with manufacturing or delivering between 10 and 30 grams of cannabis in 2007, when he was 18. After a negotiated guilty plea for that crime, he was fined, ordered to do public service and given two years' probation, court records show.
Also as a teen, Norton pleaded guilty to local charges of retail theft, possessing cannabis, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing tobacco as a minor and violating curfew, records show. Sentences included community service, fines and court supervision.
Norton failed to fully disclose any of the teenage arrests during his 2015 campaign. When completing a Daily Herald candidate questionnaire, Norton admitted to "a few minor teenage juvenile things" and didn't elaborate.
Details came to light after he took office.