String of Burglaries Topic of Joliet Meeting

Photo: Joliet Deputy Chief Ed Gregory talks about recent burglaries to concerned citizens at the Joliet Public Library Black Road branch.

One burglar rode his bike from car to car to steal things. When officers caught him, he was found with the stolen items, as well as a check he was going to try to cash.

Another man was found to be responsible for six home and three vehicle burglaries.

A 17-year-old boy was found with stolen property in his house. He was arrested June 30 and released. Officers picked him up again Aug. 3 for more burglaries.

These were just some of the stories shared by Joliet Deputy Chief Ed Gregory at Thursday night’s presentation on recent burglaries on the city’s west side at the Joliet Public Library’s Black Road branch. The library meeting room was packed with concerned citizens who wanted to learn more about how they can protect themselves from intruders and would-be burglars.

But it wasn’t just those worried over the robberies. People who had been victims also attended and some shared their stories.

One woman said she had two bikes stolen from her garage during the day.

According to Joliet Police Captain Robert Briney, a recent study showed that more than half of reported burglaries occurred during the day.

“It’s probably because people are at school or work,” Briney said. “The rest of them are split between 6 or 7 p.m. to midnight and about a fourth of them are after midnight.”

Briney suggested writing down the serial numbers of any important items to make sure those items are returned if they’re recovered. He also suggested getting your name or driver’s license number engraved on items, which can make claiming them a lot easier.

“Every year we have to have an auction because we can’t find who owns the property,” Briney said.

Despite the heightened amount of burglaries, James Kilgore of the Joliet Tactical Unit, doesn’t consider the perpetrators dangerous.

“(One of the burglars) never went into the houses looking for somebody, he never touched anybody, contact was never made with a citizen,” Kilgore said.

But what should you do if you find someone in your home? According to police, you have a right to defend yourself, which includes shooting the intruder.

“At the end of the day, if somebody’s in your house and you fear for your safety, you can protect yourself,” Kilgore said. “No matter which way you spin it, what scenario you have, it’s your house. That person should not be in your house.”

But if you don’t have a way to protect yourself, Kilgore recommends not confronting the burglar.

“If you’re by yourself, you don’t want a confrontation,” he said. “My suggestion to you would be to find the nearest exit and take off that way.”

Twin Oaks East resident Carol Debenedetti hasn’t been the victim of a burglary, but she wanted to get some information about what to do.

“There have been a lot in our neighborhood,” she said. “I’m really concerned about it. In the last month or so there were two major ones.”

Debenedetti has a home security system and a “noisy” dog to help protect her.

Burglaries don’t just happen to unaware citizens, though. Joliet Police Officer Stephen Boe said his house was broken into, which led to him installing an alarm system.

Boe’s home was burglarized in January. Boe and his wife and daughter were gone for about four hours. When they returned, Boe noticed his cats were acting weird. He went upstairs and found his back sliding glass porch door had been forced open. Boe told his wife to take their daughter and leave and call 911. He waited in his home listening to see if he could hear anyone in there. Nobody was found, but two guns and all of his wife’s jewelry were taken.

Boe said the burglars took stuff that could be easily gotten rid of.

“They could sell it or exchange it for the drugs,” Boe said.

While the person or persons responsible for the burglary were never caught, Boe did get one of his guns back. It was found in Chicago.

That incident happened on a Friday. On Monday, Boe had a security system installed.

“I always thought I was prepared because I’m a police officer,” Boe said.

Since Boe had the alarm installed, he hasn’t had any more incidents, except for when his mom accidentally sets it off.