3 Arrested, 3 Escape Botched Lincolnwood Car Dealership Burglary

LINCOLNWOOD, IL — Three men were arrested and three others escaped after breaking into a Lincolnwood car dealership Monday, authorities said.

Citing footage from security cameras, prosecutors said a red Jeep Grand Cherokee backed up to an overhead garage door on the east side of the Loeber Motors, 4255 W. Touhy Ave., shortly after 4:30 a.m.

"Five individuals exited the vehicle and used a hammer to break the window of that garage door," Assistant State's Attorney Jenna Reinhardt said Tuesday. She said all five burglars entered through the window and began searching through the dealership's service area.

Lincolnwood police were on the scene within a minute, according to a statement from company president Michael Loeber.

“We pride ourselves on having the best alarm and monitoring system in the business in partnership with the phenomenal Lincolnwood police department that was on site 30 seconds after the alarm was tripped," Loeber said.

When officers arrived, the Jeep that had been backed up against the broken garage door window accelerated away from the scene, with the driver "making good on their escape," Reinhardt said.

Police saw people inside the dealership running toward the north end of the building, according to the prosecutor. When officers went around to the north side of the building they found the three arrestees and another unidentified accomplice "standing behind bushes on the dealership's property," Reinhardt said.

Narquis Thomas, 21, of Chicago, Jamoune Wright, 20, of Gary, Indiana, and Dwayne McCoy, 19, of Hazel Crest, were taken into custody as they fled the scene on foot, according to police and prosecutors. All three men have been charged with burglary and resisting arrest.

Thomas, who has two past convictions for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, was also charged with armed habitual criminal, a non-probationable class X offense carrying a minimum sentence of six years in prison, after arresting officers reported finding a loaded gun in his sweatshirt pocket that he admitted was his.

McCoy also picked up a misdemeanor charge of obstructing identification after initially giving police a false name, prosecutors said at the trio's first court appearance following the arrest. Prosecutors said Wright also pushed a Lincolnwood police officer to the ground and admitted fighting with police during his arrest.

"Some of those allegations are false," Wright told the judge during the hearing.

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Each of the three men also had active arrest warrants and pending felony criminal cases in Cook County.

Thomas, who remains on probation following his 2020 firearm convictions, is separately awaiting trial for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated fleeing and eluding and possession of a controlled substance, according to court officials. Thomas and Wright have pending gun charges.

Edward Austin, Thomas' defense attorney, said his client graduated fourth in his high school class and earned a full-ride scholarship to Illinois State University, which he attended for a year and a half. He said he recently started a job at a fast-food restaurant.

Assistant Public Defender Sarah Manning said Wright is a father of two who most recently worked in remodeling., made it through 11th grade in Gary, Indiana, and denies the allegations against him.

McCoy's defense attorney, Nichole Massarello, said her client, who has one young son and another child on the way, had been working at a Popeye's before his arrest in the earlier case that led to his indictment on an assortment of gun charges. She questioned the strength of the evidence described by prosecutors.

"It sounds like Mr. McCoy is only allegedly identified on the exterior of the building," Massarello said. "No admissions. No weapons."

Before setting the terms of their bail, Cook County Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese said all three men were accused of taking part in a "sophisticated, coordinated effort of multiple individuals to attack a business."

Calabrese set the cash portion of bond for Thomas at $40,000 and at $20,000 for Wright and McCoy, citing the firearm and more serious charge in his reasoning.

Each of the men still have to contend with the judges who issued the arrest warrants stemming from other cases. They have also been ordered to not have any contact with Loeber Motors.

Loeber, the dealership's president, said he was grateful the incident ended with no injuries.

"Thankfully no one was hurt, the damage was minimal, and no vehicles were stolen," he said. "It is my understanding that these criminals will be in jail for a long time."