Burglar Breaks Into 3 Skokie Shops, Sets Fire To Stolen SUV: Cops

SKOKIE, IL — Police said they have identified a man who appears to have burglarized three businesses Monday night and tried to pass a bad check Tuesday morning.

The fruits of his efforts in the village were limited to some key fobs from a car repair shop and various e-cigarette items, police said.

In all three incidents, a man in a stolen black Cadillac Escalade shattered windows to gain entry to the businesses, according to a news release from Skokie police.

Chicago and Lincolnwood police said the Cadillac had been stolen the day before from a Lincolnwood auto repair store and was found late that night in Chicago after being set ablaze.

Witnesses described the man as about 6 feet tall, 185 pounds, and black with his hair dyed red. He was wearing white pants and a white t-shirt. Images provided by police show him with close-cropped hair and a slight goatee.

---

In the first burglary, the man broke into Accurate Auto Repair, 7890 Lincoln Ave., and made off with key fobs and no vehicles shortly before 11 p.m., according to police.

In the next break-in, police said the man appears to have shattered the front window of the USA Puff smoke shop, 5317 Lincoln Ave., at 11:09 p.m. before stealing about $300 worth of items from inside.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m., a man matching the same description in the same model SUV broke a window and got into Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 8225 Skokie Blvd. He did not steal anything from inside, police said.

The next morning, the red-haired man in the stolen SUV showed up at the Walmart at 3626 Touhy Ave. and unsuccessfully tried to use a stolen check to purchase some chips. He drove away in the Escalade when the check was declined.

According to Lincolnwood police, the SUV was stolen after someone took its keys from a lockbox at the Zeigler car dealership at 6900 N. McCormick Place. It was reported stolen on Monday morning.

The SUV was recovered around 11 p.m. Tuesday night in downtown Chicago, according to the Chicago Police Department.

A man trying to drive the SUV out of a parking garage in River North told the onsite security officer that he did not have any money, according to police. When the security officer stepped in front of the car to manually lift the gate, the driver sped through.

Police said the security guard suffered minor injuries but refused to go to the hospital. The driver drove the car to the 100 block of North State Street where he set it on fire, according to police.

Officers found the man on the CTA Red Line platform and took him into custody, according to a Chicago police spokesperson. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

Police said 27-year-old Timothy Barfield was identified as the driver who struck the 42-year-old security guard with the SUV near a parking garage in the first block of East Randolph Street. He was due in court for a preliminary hearing at noon on Thursday.