
A judge denied pre-trial release for one of three men who allegedly broke into an elderly woman’s Lake Forest home and physically restrained her while the house was being ransacked.
Spanky Miller, 18, of Chicago, was charged with residential burglary, unlawful restraint and criminal trespass to a residence.
Miller is also facing charges in Cook County.
Miller and two other men allegedly forced their way into a home in the 1000 block of West Deerpath Road in Lake Forest on April 27 just before 8 p.m.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said during a detention hearing Thursday afternoon that the home was occupied by an elderly woman in her 80s, who lives alone.
The woman woke up to banging on her front door.
When she looked out her front window, she saw the three men and a black pickup truck parked in her driveway, McConnell said.
The front door was then broken down and the three offenders allegedly forced their way into the house.
One of them, allegedly Miller, physically restrained the woman and claimed that her house was on fire, McConnell said.
Lake Forest Deputy Police Chief Kevin Zelk said in a statement that Miller held onto the woman by the shoulders, “not allowing her to move freely.”
The two other men, who police described as wearing black clothing and dark face masks, allegedly went upstairs and ransacked a room, stealing valuables like various pieces of jewelry.
Among the stolen jewelry was a 1954 high school graduation ring, McConnell said.
The three offenders quickly exited the house and allegedly fled the scene in the black pickup truck.
Police said that the pickup truck was possibly a Dodge Ram.
The woman, who was not injured, was able to call for help and the Lake Forest Police Department responded to the residence at around 8 p.m.
Officers arrived and found the house to be ransacked.
Lake Forest police launched an investigation into the incident with the help of the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force’s (NORTAF) Burglary Task Force, which is a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement group that specializes in burglary investigations.
Lake Forest police detectives learned that a residential burglary occurred in Glencoe on April 24, three days prior to the burglary in Lake Forest.
In that Glencoe incident, three similar offenders in a black pickup truck allegedly burglarized the home of a person in their 60s, stealing jewelry and other valuables, McConnell said.
Detectives were able to identify Miller as one of the alleged offenders and issued a warrant for his arrest on May 30.
Members of the burglary task force took Miller into custody on June 20.
Glencoe police detectives gathered probable cause to obtain a search warrant for Miller’s phone, McConnell said.
Police examined Miller’s phone location data, which allegedly showed him at the location of the Lake Forest burglary on West Deerpath Road at the same time the incident occurred.
McConnell said that Miller’s phone data showed an uptick in movement during that time.
Data also showed that shortly after the Lake Forest burglary, Miller’s phone was allegedly in the 1300 block of Gordon Terrace in Deerfield, where another residential burglary was reported.
Detectives further found a photo on Miller’s phone of a watch that was stolen from the Deerfield residence, McConnell said.
Text messages sent before the Lake Forest burglary showed Miller allegedly telling a contact that he was “working,” which McConnell said is a term used to describe burglary operations and likely refers to the back-to-back residential burglaries.
McConnell also said that detectives previously knew Miller to be involved in organized residential burglary operations targeting the elderly.
McConnell said the woman in the Lake Forest burglary was “in fear for her life” and was “terrified of what was going to happen.”
The prosecutor further added that the woman is now scared of living alone and a family member now accompanies her at the home.
McConnell called the incident a “crime of violence” and said Miller poses a real and present threat to the victim and the public.
McConnell asked Lake County Judge James Simonian to grant prosecutors’ petition to detain Miller pending trial under the SAFE-T Act.
Timothy Roellig, Miller’s defense attorney, said that prosecutors have not met the burden of “clear and convincing evidence” against his client.
Roellig said that police took Miller’s phone without probable cause and he disputed prosecutors’ interpretation of the phone data.
Roellig further said that the uptick in his client’s phone movement would mean he was not holding the woman down during the burglary.
After considering both the state and the defense, Simonian said that there is “clear and convincing evidence” that Miller allegedly committed the burglary.
Simonian said he was “bothered” by the details of the case, like the number of alleged residential burglaries and how the victim in the Lake Forest incident was elderly.
The judge granted prosecutors’ petition and ordered Miller detained in the Lake County Jail pending trial.
Miller is next scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on July 23 for a preliminary hearing.
Lake Forest Interim Chief of Police Michael Lange lauded the work of his officers for conducting a thorough investigation and thanked NORTAF for its assistance in the case.
“While incidents like these are extremely rare, we understand the impact they have on our community,” Lange said.
“From the moment this crime occurred, our officers and investigators have been determined to bring those responsible to justice,” he added.
It is currently unknown if police have yet identified the other offenders.