Cicero Men Arrested For Burglarizing Several Cars: Riverside Cops

RIVERSIDE, IL — Two men have been charged with multiple burglaries to vehicle after a patrol officer they were found with stolen items, police said. Jose Belmonte, 20, of Cicero; and Omar Colin, 19, of Cicero, were both charged with four counts of felony burglary to motor vehicle.

Police said a Riverside officer was on patrol at 2:48 a.m. Feb. 26, when he saw Belmonte and Colin walking near Uvedale and Southcote roads, carrying backpacks and dressed all in black. Both men ran from the officer, but were quickly caught. When the officer questioned them, police said they told the officer they were coming from a house in Riverside and had gotten lost.

According to police, the officer asked to search their backpacks and found items consistent with car burglaries; including GPS equipment, tollway change, personal items and an iPhone. When the officers turned on the GPS it was listed to a home in the area where the men were stopped; and when officers followed up with that homeowner they found the GPS had been stolen from inside a car parked in the driveway on the 300 block of Southcote Road.

Belmonte and Colin were both taken into custody at this time. Both men were placed in the back of the squad car, and the officer turned on the camera system inside the car. He told Belmonte and Colin they were being recorded, police said. Both men then began to talk making incriminating statements while on video and audio in the back of the squad car.

Police said they continued to receive reports of burglary to motor vehicles throughout that morning, and by the end of the day had five burglaries reported, all of which were attributed to Belmonte and Colin. Every car that was broken into was unlocked and no force was used.

All stolen property from the cars was recovered and returned to owners as part of the overall investigation, police said.

Photos provided by Riverside Police Department.