Three Elmhurst men arrested and charged Nov. 13 with taking part in a spree of 40 burglaries to vehicles in DuPage County communities will be arraigned in December.
Jack Thomas, 18, 451 Elm St., Elmhurst, charged with theft and possession of property more than $300 and less than $10,000, will be arraigned Dec. 7 at the DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton, according to Paul Darrah, spokesman for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. That charge is a Class 3 Felony, punishable by two to five years in prison if convicted.
Andrew DeJesus, 18, 525 Kendall Ave., Elmhurst, and Barry Tharp, 19, 410 Church St., Elmhurst were charged with burglary, a Class 2 Felony punishable by three to seven years in prison if convicted. Their court dates are Dec. 7 and Dec. 8, respectively.
Thomas and DeJesus posted bond and are no longer in custody, while Tharp remains in custody at the DuPage County Jail as of Wednesday morning, said Dawn Domrose, spokeswoman for the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.
The three men allegedly committed 40 burglaries to vehicles between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. throughout several DuPage County communities, including Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Elmhurst, Clarendon Hills and Downers Grove.
Clarendon Hills police arrested the men after receiving a call from a resident in the Stonegate subdivision at 5:30 a.m. with reports of two men suspicious men wearing dark clothes and walking along Columbine Avenue in the subdivision.
A responding officer approached the men — Tharp and DeJesus — who appeared evasive, and whose explanations of their activity were suspect, Anderson said.
When officers patted down the suspects they found a wallet belonging to a resident of Clarendon Hills, and took the pair into custody. Within 30 minutes officers located Thomas hiding beneath a tree about a block away, according to police.
A 2003 Jeep Liberty owned by the parents of Thomas was discovered parked nearby, and inside was property belonging to various victims, police said. Anderson said two of the suspects then allowed police to drive them through several communities, at which time they indicated locations of burglaries they committed to vehicles in Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills.
“Apparently they looked only for vehicles that were unlocked, would enter them and then remove items,” Anderson said.
Among items allegedly taken were electronic equipment, cell telephones, wallets, a telescope and golf clubs. Mark Wodka, deputy chief of police in Hinsdale, said the team was responsible for nine burglaries to vehicles that occurred in the early morning hours of Nov. 13.
Anderson said investigators do not believe the team is connected with any other previous cases of burglaries to vehicles in the area.
