Five 'Gypsies' Accused Of Ruse Burglary Targeting Seniors
SCHAUMBURG (CBS) -- Five self-admitted "gypsies" were charged after two of them barged into the home of two elderly people claiming they were construction workers and had struck something — but were captured by police doing burglary patrols in the area.
Corky Miller, 40, of 2425 N. Clybourn in Chicago; Michael Miller, 40, of 8215 N. Milwaukee in Niles; Lawrence Miller, 19, of 1819 Palm in Prospect Heights; Alan Ely, 23, of 1845 White Chapel in Mount Prospect; and Rocky Reed, 19, of 548 Ida Court in Mount Prospect are charged with one felony count each of residential burglary, a release from Schaumburg police said.
Corky Miller was also charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding.
On Tuesday, a Schaumburg detective was conducting burglary surveillance when he saw a vehicle on Spring Creek Circle that matched the description of burglary suspects from another community. The detective saw two men running from a home and enter the vehicle, which already had three men inside, the release said.
He followed the vehicle and called for help. The vehicle took several evasive actions in an effort to lose the detective and when a marked patrol unit arrived, officers tried to stop the car. But the car drove away and was involved in two separate minor traffic crashes, one involving a civilian vehicle and the other a Schaumburg police car, the release said.
All five were taken into custody. Only the driver of the civilian vehicle claimed a minor injury.
The investigation revealed two of the five approached two elderly residents at their home, one wearing a construction type hard hat and the other carrying a two-way radio.
When the residents answered their door, the suspects barged in claiming they were doing construction work down the street and had struck something. The suspects said they had to check for a possible problem with lighting in the home and then fled without stealing anything when alerted of the possible presence of police in the area by their partners.
At bond hearings in Rolling Meadows on Thursday, Corky Miller was ordered held on $50,000 while Lawrence Miller, Rocky Reed, and Alan Ely were ordered held on $20,000 each. Michael Miller was remanded to the custody of the Cook County Sheriff's Dept. and is being held without bond for a probation violation.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2011. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
