Skokie Serial Burglar Sentenced To 21 Years In State Prison

SKOKIE, IL — A Skokie man pleaded guilty Thursday to burglarizing homes in Glenview and Des Plaines and attacking a police officer in exchange for a sentence of 21 years in state prison. Due to an extensive criminal record dating back a quarter-century, authorities said he would have eligible for a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison had he taken the case to trial, Pioneer Press reported.

Rengay Frazier, 48, of the 7800 block of North Crawford Avenue, has been in custody since police arrested him at his home Nov. 15, 2017, on charges of aggravated battery to a police officer in Des Plaines and multiple counts of residential burglary in Glenview. Records show he was on parole following a 2013 burglary conviction at the time of his arrest.

Glenview police said at the time he burglarized homes in the week leading up to his arrest in the 2300 block of Carrington Way, the 1700 block of Highland Lane and the 2200 block of Birchwood Court, stealing more than $5,000 worth jewelry. One homeowner described seeing two masked men inside her house, possibly wearing gloves, who fled before officers arrived, according to police reports.

Mount Prospect police said Frazier also broke into a house there in October 2017, although it was not one of the charges to which he pleaded guilty. His image was captured a home surveillance camera and he was identified by multiple police agencies after police shared the video.

At the Aug. 22 hearing in Skokie where Frazier was ordered to serve three consecutive seven-year sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections, he apologized to his victims and his children, according to the Skokie Review. With good behavior he could be released around age 60.

Frazier also previously served a three-year sentence after pleading guilty to illegal possession of a gun, cannabis and stolen property after police in Evanston made what remains largest seizure of stolen property in their history in 2008. Police reported finding stolen items from more than 20 homes in Evanston, Morton Grove, Skokie and Wilmette while serving a drug-related search warrant at Frazier's former home in the 1900 block of Emerson Street, including flat-screen TVs, computers, guns and $52,000 in cash. Frazier was fired from his job as a janitor at a District 65 middle school after he was arrested along with his brother and a roommate.

Earlier: Skokie Man Stole Over $5,000 In 3 Glenview Burglaries: Police