Wilmette Woman Charged With Burglarizing Two Homes

WILMETTE, IL — A Wilmette woman broke into two homes last weekend only to be interrupted by residents while trying stealing their property, authorities said. Police said a Morton Grove man who drove her from the scene of the second break-in fled Wilmette and Winnetka police before he was taken into custody.

Ashley A. Luksik, 33, of the 3500 block of Lake Avenue, was charged with three counts of residential burglary, a felony, in connection with incidents on the mornings of June 29 and July 1, according to Wilmette Deputy Police Chief Patrick Collins. Her companion, Jason K. Krzak, 40, of the 8400 block of Austin Avenue, was charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.

In the first incident, police were called to the 800 block of Leyden Lane shortly before 11 a.m. on a Friday morning. A resident told police he had been asleep in his bedroom when he was awoken by Luksik, a former acquaintance, rummaging through his stuff on the floor. She did not have permission to be in the home, police were told. The resident asked her to leave and she did.

Two days later, at 11:41 a.m. on Sunday, cops were called to a report of a residential burglary in the 900 block of Romona Road in Wilmette where the burglar had fled the scene, police were told. The resident told police he had returned home from a weekend trip to discover that someone had broken a basement window and forced open a door to the basement.

While reviewing the scene, the resident noticed a woman walking around several items that had been in his basement, which were stacked up in the basement window well. The resident and other witnesses told police the woman got into a maroon sedan driven by a man and fled the scene.

Winnetka police located the car near the intersection of Hill and Hibbard roads and arrested Luksik. Krzak took off running from the vehicle but he was arrested moments later by cops. Police said Luksik later admitted entering the home in the 900 block of Romona Road.

Luksik was released on her own recognizance ahead of a July 18 court appearance in Skokie. Krzak was also released on a recognizance bond. He's due back in court July 23.