Quick Reporting From Residents Led To Home Burglary Arrest: Cops

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A Chicago man who burglarized at least two Highland Park homes Tuesday was arrested after he was confronted by a resident, authorities said.

City officials credited quick reporting by residents for allowing officers to quickly apprehend the alleged burglar.

Charles Malik Lawson, 25, of Chicago, was taken into custody within minutes of the call, according to police.

Prosecutors later approved two counts of residential burglary and one count of misdemeanor theft, according to a statement from city staff. Initially, police classified the theft charge as a felony due to a prior burglary conviction, according to the arrest report.

According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office, he also faces another misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property. Police said he picked up the charge from damaging a mattress while in custody.

Officers were dispatched the 1200 block of McDaniels Avenue shortly after 6:45 p.m. in response to a 911 call from a resident about a suspicious person inside the caller's home, according to staff.

The resident told police that they had been in the back yard when they noticed the sound of someone inside their house, it said.

When the caller went inside to find out what was going on he found a man who claimed he just wanted to let the resident know that the garage door had been left open, according to staff. The man then fled on a bicycle.

Officers were still on the scene when police received another 911 call about a "potential burglary" from just around the corner from the first call, in the 1100 block of Thorn Tree Lane, according to the statement.

Shortly after 7 p.m., police noticed a man matching the description from the first burglary, later identified as Lawson, and somehow determined that he was involved in both incidents, staff said.

Police later got two more reports of similar suspicious activity in the area, including a garage break-in, packages stolen from a front porch and unspecified indications of an "earlier home invasion."

Lawson was ordered held in lieu of the $7,500 cash portion of his bond. He is due back in court Tuesday.

Police urged residents to quickly report any evidence of a break-in or anyone acting suspiciously, including slow-moving and aimless motorists, people hanging around and peering into parked vehicles and cars driving around neighborhoods with their headlights off.