Mount Prospect police arrest two on multiple identity theft charges

The contents of two trash bags proved invaluable to a Mount Prospect investigation into a string of identity thefts in which authorities say two people used personal information from at least three suburban residents to make fraudulent credit card purchases and open store credit accounts.

Patrick Allen, on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections, and Amanda Solis are charged with identity thefts and burglaries which authorities say occurred in Mount Prospect, Des Plaines, Rosemont, Arlington Heights and Chicago from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1.

Allen, 36, formerly of Schaumburg, was ordered held without bail. His pending cases in Rolling Meadows and Skokie include theft, burglary, unlawful possession of a credit card and continuing a financial crimes enterprise, according to prosecutors.

In addition, prosecutors say Allen has 18 felony convictions for burglary, theft, aggravated identity theft and forgery dating from 2005 to 2016. Most concluded with prison sentences.

Solis, 33, was ordered held on $140,000. Her pending cases in Skokie and Rolling Meadows include burglary and identity theft, according to prosecutors. Police say both defendants are homeless.

Mount Prospect officers arrested Allen and Solis Tuesday at an Elk Grove Village motel, said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Nicole Murphy. Near Solis' vehicle were two white trash bags from which officers recovered paperwork opening lines of credit at a Chicago home repair store and a clothing store in the name of another woman without her consent, Murphy said. Home repair store video showed Allen and Solis opening the credit line and purchasing $662.62 in merchandise. Solis later admitted to purchasing the woman's credit card number online, Murphy said.

Police also recovered military and medical records that included a man's birth date and Social Security number, Murphy said. The documents were inside a black case that had been stolen from the man's locked storage unit in a parking garage, Murphy said.

Detectives responding to a report of a stolen credit card late last month learned a different woman was alerted Nov. 26 about fraudulent purchases made on a credit card she expected but never received. According to Murphy, video surveillance at a Mount Prospect pizzeria shows Allen using the card. Surveillance video from a Rosemont big-box store shows Solis using the card, which police later recovered from her purse, Murphy said.

Prosecutors also linked Allen and Solis to a car theft after a Mount Prospect woman reported her car stolen from her condominium parking garage about a week ago, Murphy said. Inside the woman's car was her credit card, Murphy said.

Surveillance video taken at 12:51 a.m. Nov. 28 showed two people entering the garage and forcing their way into vehicles, Murphy said. At 1:08 a.m., the credit card was used at a Des Plaines drive-through restaurant. Between 1:15 and 5 a.m. other attempts were made to use the card, Murphy said. The defendants returned to the condo garage at 5:14 a.m. and drove the woman's car out, Murphy said. A search of that car revealed items taken from other vehicles, while the woman's temporary driver's license was found in Solis' purse, according to Murphy.

Allen and Solis next appear in court on Dec. 18.