Additional charges have been filed against a Zion man, who police say committed approximately 60 burglaries in Illinois and Wisconsin, during a “massive crime spree” dating back to last summer.
Kwantrell C. Williams, 24, of the 2300 block of Joppa Avenue in Zion, was charged in early April with six counts of burglary, five counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, two counts of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, two counts of theft between $500 and $10,000, criminal damage to property over $10,000, two counts of criminal damage to property between $500 and $10,000, five counts of possession of burglary tools, five counts of unauthorized possession of license plates, three counts of criminal damage to property under $500, theft under $500, and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleged that Williams burglarized the Firestone Complete Auto Care, 6325 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake, after damaging a glass window on January 24.
Williams allegedly stole automotive diagnostic computers from the business.
Minutes later, Williams burglarized the Swift Wash, 161 Liberty Road in Crystal Lake, after breaking a glass door, the complaint said.
Cash and an iPod were stolen in the burglary.
10 minutes later, Williams burglarized the Discount Muffler and Brake, 80 East Berkshire Drive in Crystal Lake, by smashing the glass windows, according to the complaint. An automotive battery charger was stolen.
Less than 20 minutes after that, Williams allegedly burglarized the BMO Harris bank, 5545 Northwest Highway in Crystal Lake, by smashing the glass windows, causing over $10,000 in damage.
Police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Williams after the burglaries but he fled from them, the complaint said.
The complaint said that Williams came back one week later — on January 31 — and again burglarized the same Firestone Auto Care business by damaging a glass window.
During several of the burglaries, police said that Williams possessed a stolen 2015 Honda Accord.
New charges filed against Williams on Monday, in cases investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, allege that Williams burglarized or attempted to burglarize three additional businesses on January 31.
The businesses include Frontline Automotive, 1701 West Route 120 in unincorporated McHenry; Caliber Collision, 5702 South Route 31 in unincorporated Crystal Lake; and the Mobil gas station, 4407 High Point in unincorporated McHenry.
From those burglaries, prosecutors charged Williams with three counts of burglary, three counts of possession of burglary tools and three counts of criminal damage to property.
On February 24, Williams allegedly burglarized the Little House of Cars, 805 East Terra Cotta Avenue in Crystal Lake, by breaking a glass window, according to a criminal complaint.
Williams was accused of stealing a Canon camera, vehicle key fobs and equipment batteries from Little House of Cars.
He also allegedly stole a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe and a 2015 Audi A4 from the business.
Williams was arrested in early March on separate charges for a burglary in June 2020 and has been held in the McHenry County Jail since his arrest.
Zion Police Department Lt. Paul Kehrli previously told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Williams was behind approximately 60 burglaries throughout five counties in Illinois and Wisconsin, including Lake, McHenry, Cook, DuPage, Kenosha and Racine.
In Lake County, the burglaries occurred in multiple different towns, including Zion, Grayslake, Lake Villa and Gurnee.
Williams, who allegedly began committing the crime spree in the summer of 2021, would typically case the businesses before going back at night to burglarize them, Kehrli said.
Williams would steal vehicles during the burglaries and drive them to a storage facility before later dumping them, Kehrli said.
Kehrli also said that Williams’ half-brother served as a getaway driver at times and occasionally participated in some of the burglaries.
Williams evaded arrest numerous times before being arrested in February in Waukegan.
Kehrli said that Williams committed a “massive crime spree” and said that it could be screened for federal charges by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He remains held in the McHenry County Jail on a $190,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court again on May 13.