A Waukegan man, who allegedly burglarized a landscaping truck, was arrested after he tried selling property he stole back to the victim in Beach Park, police said.
Angelo L. Rodriguez, 53, of the 1700 block of Hyde Park Street in Waukegan, was charged with resisting or obstructing a peace officer, driving while license suspended and a felony count of theft.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was called around 8:05 a.m. Wednesday to the 12900 block of West Wadsworth Road in Beach Park for a report of a burglary.
The victim told police that during the overnight hours someone cut the lock on one of his landscaping trailers and stole five backpack blowers, two chainsaws and a concrete saw.
A few hours after reporting the burglary, the victim was contacted by Rodriguez, who the victim knew.
“Knowing the victim owns a landscaping business, Rodriguez told the victim he had some landscaping items he recently acquired for sale. The victim looked at photos of the items Rodriguez was selling and identified several of them as being the items stolen during the overnight hours,” Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said.
Sheriff’s detectives and members of the Sheriff’s Special Investigations Group conducted an undercover operation to view and purchase the items Rodriguez had, Covelli said.
During the operation, detectives positively identified the items Rodriguez possessed as being the victim’s stolen items. Rodriguez was arrested at the scene.
After being arrested, Rodriguez complained he was not feeling well so he was transported by ambulance to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan for evaluation, police said.
“Upon being discharged from the hospital, Rodriguez attempted to flee on foot from sheriff’s detectives. After a very brief foot pursuit, Rodriguez was taken back into custody, before he exited the hospital,” Covelli said.
Rodriguez was transported to the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 17.
“We tend to see an uptick in property crimes and crimes of opportunity during the warmer weather months. I’m very happy with the collaboration between our Patrol Division, Criminal Investigations Division, and Special Investigations Group that resolved this case quickly – recovering the victim’s property and arresting the offender,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.