Darien Home Invasion Suspect Arrested: Cops

DARIEN, IL – A man who is accused of invading a Darien house nearly three years ago has been arrested, police told Patch late last week.

Joseph Covington, 26, was arrested Oct. 25 in Chicago and went to state prison a few days later, Police Chief Greg Thomas said in an email. The state Department of Corrections had a warrant for Covington, the chief said.

About 10 a.m. Nov. 26, 2019, a woman in her 20s was at home in the 1100 block of Belair Drive when she heard someone knocking on the door. She looked out and saw several people wearing construction-type vests.

People said the woman called her mother to check if she was expecting anyone. Then several masked people entered the house through a door that might have been unlocked and then held the woman at gunpoint, police said in a news release at the time.

But one of the neighbors noticed someone in the background holding a gun, so the neighbor pulled the woman out of the house and ran back to the neighbor's house, police said. They called police.

Darien police issued a description of the suspects, and two people were detained by the Woodridge police. The two were brought to the Darien police station, and a K9 unit searched the area, finding gloves, items of clothing and a handgun nearby, according to police.

The people were not charged. The police at the time declined to give a reason for their release, citing the continuing investigation.

Police said at the time that there was a motive behind the home invasion, but did not want to reveal the information. Three suspects were involved, police said.

At a City Council meeting in December 2019, Chief Thomas said he understood the public's desire for information about the case.

"A lot of people rightfully want to have a lot of answers and not feel any kind of fear from the situation," Thomas told the council. "Unfortunately, there are rules I have to obey regarding release of information, both because of the prosecution and integrity of the investigation."