Elgin man facing multiple burglary charges gets 5 years in prison
An Elgin man who was arrested and charged with burglaries in 2018 and 2019 has pleaded guilty in one of the cases and has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Michael J. Gran, 55, of the 0-100 block of Edison Avenue, was arrested and charged with two counts of residential burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal damage to property, unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a stolen firearm on Jan. 16 2019, according to the Kane County sheriff's office and court records.
Gran was accused of burglarizing two houses on the 37W300 block of Mason Road near Elgin. Also, he was charged with a Dec. 8, 2018 residential burglary of one of the same houses on Mason Road after authorities arrested him, Kane County court records show.
He pleaded guilty this week to the December burglary in exchange for prosecutors dismissing charges from the January burglaries, court records show. Gran faced a four- to 15-year prison term on each of the burglary charges.
Kane County Judge Alice Tracy accepted the plea, records show.
Gran was arrested after Kane County sheriff deputies responded on Jan. 16, 2019 to a burglary call on Mason Road and saw the patio door, back door, window and siding on the victim's house were damaged. While deputies searched the scene, they noticed and followed footprints in the snow leading to another house on Mason Road, which also had its rear window forced open, authorities said.
Deputies tracked the footprints across the street to a vehicle in a hotel parking lot and while they were searching a trash bin, they saw Gran walk out of his hotel room and open the vehicle's door.
Gran consented to a search of the vehicle and hotel room, where stolen items including jewelry, handguns, ammunition, pocket knives and collectible coins were found, authorities said. A pry bar and hammer also were discovered under Gran's laundry, authorities said.
Under state law, Gran can have his sentence cut in half for good behavior while in prison. He also gets credit for more than 13 months served at the Kane County jail where he was held on $150,000 bail while the cases were pending.