A man has been charged with burglarizing a garage and stealing a pickup truck belonging to the Lake Villa Township supervisor. The vehicle was later found totaled in Zion.
Lake Villa Township Supervisor Daniel Venturi said the incident occurred on October 15 at his residence near Martin School in unincorporated Lake Villa.
Suspects pried open Venturi’s locked garage service door and stole his DeWalt power tools, snow blower, air compressor and other tools.
The suspects also stole Venturi’s 2021 Ram pickup truck.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they responded to Venturi’s residence in the 24700 block of West Dering Lane in unincorporated Lake Villa around 11:15 a.m. on October 16.
The Zion Police Department notified the sheriff’s office regarding a vehicle crash where the driver of the vehicle fled.
The crash occurred in the 1800 block of Sheridan Road in Zion.
Sheriff’s deputies went to Venturi’s residence after learning the vehicle was registered to him.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived and made telephone contact with Venturi.
He reported that he believed his car was inside his garage and he was out of town at the time, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies found an open garage door to the detached garage of his residence.
Sheriff’s evidence technicians processed both the stolen vehicle and the garage.
Venturi said his Ram pickup truck was totaled after the thieves crashed into a car dealer lot, totaling other vehicles as well.
The sheriff’s office confirmed Friday that Jorge A. Brambila, 36, of Lake Villa, has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Brambila was charged with residential burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of identity theft.
Brambila has been held in the Lake County Jail since February on unrelated charges.
Brambila is being held on a $350,000 bond and would need to post $35,000 cash in order to be released.