The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they often do grind fine.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced that a Chicago man, Joshua Captain, has been sentenced after having pleaded guilty to breaking into a Naperville jewelry story and stealing merchandise during an evening of protests following the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
On Friday afternoon, Judge Daniel Guerin sentenced Joshua Captain, 24, of the 9100 block of S. Drexel Avenue, Chicago, to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for one count of Burglary, a Class 2 Felony. Captain had entered a blind plea of guilty on June 29 of this year.
He will be required to serve 50% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
On June 1, 2020, Naperville police officers responded to Naperville Jewelry, located at 120 Water Street, for reports of looting. Upon their arrival, officers found the windows to the business completely broken and glass, jewelry and jewelry boxes on the floor. As officers entered the establishment, they encountered Captain standing behind a counter rummaging through drawers and merchandise.
An officer ordered Captain to stop and told him he was under arrest at which time Captain ran to a back room and barricaded the door. The officer was able to enter the back room and took Captain into custody. When Captain was searched, officers found hundreds of dollars in cash that had blood on it and several jewelry boxes in his pockets.
“While June 1, 2020, was a day of peaceful protest across the country, Mr. Captain decided to instead break into and loot a local business,” Berlin said. “My office fully supports the public’s right to peacefully protest. There was nothing peaceful, however, about this defendant’s attempt to take advantage of the legitimate protests that occurred that day as a cover to commit a violent crime. I thank Assistant State’s Attorney Grace Barsanti for her efforts which led to Mr. Captain’s guilty plea and ultimate sentence.”
