A 55-year-old man is in custody and has been charged with an early-morning burglary of a Walgreens in Naperville.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Naperville Chief of Police Jason Arres announced today that the suspect, a resident of Naperville, has been charged with one count of Burglary (Class 2 Felony) and one count of Criminal Damage to Property (Class 4 Felony). He is currently on pre-trial detention facing Domestic Battery and Aggravated Assault charges (both Class A Misdemeanors) regarding a domestic violence incident that allegedly occurred on February 24.
Naperville police allege that at approximately 5:20am on February 23 the suspect entered the Walgreens located at 63 West 87th Street with the intent to commit a theft, breaking a window causing between $500 and $10,000 worth of damage, and then fled the scene.
After the subject was identified as a suspect in the case, Judge George Ford issued an arrest warrant on March 6. He was served with the warrant at the DuPage County Jail where he was being held on the domestic battery/aggravated assault matter.
“The fact that [the suspect] is being detained on an unrelated offense is of no consequence in this case,” Berlin said. “In this newest case, [his] most serious charge is the forcible felony of burglary, which is a non-detainable offense under the Safe-T-Act dangerousness standard, unless there is use of force against another person. This morning, Judge Dieden was required by law to release [the suspect] in this case.
“As I said following the implementation of the Safe-T-Act, after hearing the facts and circumstances of a case, a judge, not the legislature, is in the best position to decide if pre-trial release for a defendant is appropriate. I still believe this to be the case and I continue to urge the General Assembly to amend the law and allow judges to use their discretion in every case, similar to New Jersey’s pre-trial release law.”
The suspect’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 1 for arraignment in front of Judge Michael Reidy.
