2 Burglary Suspects Apprehended In Des Plaines: Police

DES PLAINES, IL — A pair believed to be involved in several local burglaries involving bank customers is behind bars. According to Des Plaines police, the two men would stake out local banks and then follow customers in their cars to commit the burglaries.

On Aug. 30, Andres F. Parra-Bohorquez, 31, of Chicago, was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary. Michael S. Castiblanco-Quiroga, 32, homeless, was arrested and charged with one count of burglary and one count of fraudulent ID. Both men remain in the Cook County Jail and are due back in court Wednesday.

At around noon Aug. 12, police responded to a report of a burglary to a vehicle at Des Plaines Auto Clinic, 480 S. River Road. The victim, a 53-year-old Palatine resident, said that they were at a bank in Palatine and withdrew $4,500 in cash. They then returned to their car and placed $4,380 of the money in an envelope in the unlocked glove box of his 1998 Chevrolet Camaro. They then drove to 480 S. River Road, where they entered the business. When they returned to the vehicle, the money was missing from the glove box.

Responding officers were able to obtain video surveillance of a suspicious vehicle, a black Mercury Mariner, occupied by at least two men, in the area at the time of the incident.

Soon thereafter, investigators learned of other similar crimes in surrounding communities with the same described Mercury Mariner. Utilizing license plate reader software and video footage, police were able to obtain a license plate number for the suspected offending vehicle.

On Aug. 28, while conducting a surveillance of the Mercury Mariner, they saw it was traveling throughout the Chicagoland area, stopping at several different banking establishments in the northwest suburbs. The vehicle was occupied by two men, later identified as Castiblanco-Quiroga (driver) and Parra-Bohorquez (passenger). They would wait for a bank patron to leave the bank, and then follow the unsuspecting patrons in their vehicle.

At around 12:05 p.m. on the same date, the Mercury pulled into the parking lot located at a Mobil gas station, 20235 N. Rand Road in Palatine (Mobil Gas Station). After parking in the gas station lot for a short period of time, the Mercury quickly exited the parking lot, traveling eastbound on Rand Road.

Upon approaching the area of Rand Road and Arlington Heights Road, the Mercury entered a business strip at 309 E. Rand Road in Arlington Heights. The vehicle parked, and Castiblanco-Quiroga exited the driver's side of the vehicle and approached the passenger side of an unoccupied silver 2017 Ford Explorer, belonging to the owner of the Mobil gas station. Police said he continued to walk between the Explorer and the door to a UPS store located within the business strip, acting as a lookout.

Michael ultimately entered the UPS store, at which time investigators witnessed Parra-Bohorquez exit the Mercury, wearing a mask over his and approach the Explorer, open the rear driver's side door and remove a black laptop style case. He then quickly returned to the vehicle and Castiblanco-Quiroga exited the UPS store, running to the Mercury.

With both men back inside the vehicle, the Mercury fled the parking lot northbound on Arlington Heights Road. Investigators pursued the vehicle and were also able to make contact with the owner of the Ford Explorer. He related that the black case removed from his vehicle contained around $25,000 in cash.

Wheeling police assisted by attempting to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle, and the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. The marked unit terminated its attempt to stop the Mercury, but Des Plaines police were able to re-acquire the vehicle's location, unoccupied at a Mariano's in Glenview, located at 25 Waukegan Road

Several surrounding agencies, including members of NORTAF, flooded the area and saw Castiblanco-Quiroga entering an Uber, attempting to flee the area. The Uber was traffic stopped and Castiblanco-Quiroga was taken into custody. He was reportedly found in possession of $761 in cash, believed to be proceeds from the earlier crime. He was also in possession of two fraudulent identification cards. A fingerprint inquiry revealed his true identity and that he was wanted on a parole violation in relation to a robbery that occurred in California.

Parra-Bohorquez was located by officers at a train station platform in the area. He was taken into custody, and he was in possession of a plastic bag containing $23,890 in cash and an additional $64 in his pocket. All the money is believed to be proceeds of the burglary to the vehicle.

Additional proceeds, including cash, were located in the Mercury after obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle.