Man Sentenced to 22 Years for Stealing Remote Control, TVs from Apartments Complexes

Eric Bramwell, a 36-year-old man from Melrose Park, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for burglarizing and stealing televisions from several apartment complexes. The DuPage County State’s Attorney announced the sentencing in a press release on Friday.

On August 1, 2015, Bramwell stole a remote control to the common area television in a Wheaton apartment complex. He got away, but he dropped a glove, which was later recovered by police and checked for DNA.
The DNA from the glove matched Bramwell's DNA in the state’s convicted felon database.

After a two-day trial in November 2016, a jury convicted Berlin in 25 minutes. At his sentencing, prosecutors showed evidence that Bramwell burglarized apartment complexes in Wheaton, Lisle, Aurora, Bloomingdale, Downers Grove and Oakbrook Terrace.

“Mr. Bramwell’s illegal activity and his history have finally caught up with him,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Regardless of what was stolen, Mr. Bramwell repeatedly thumbed his nose at the law.

Bramwell must serve half of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

WRITTEN BY PATRICK MARTIN