A Chicago man has been sentenced to nearly nine years in prison in connection with the burglary of a computer store in Cary in 2020 where nearly $8,000 worth of electronics were stolen.
David A. Smith, 37, of Chicago, was charged in April 2020 with burglary, theft between $500-$10,000, possession of burglary tools and criminal damage to property.
Smith was identified on social media after being arrested and charged for a similar incident in Chicago. Court records show he is currently confined at the Cook County Jail.
The Cary Police Department obtained arrest warrants for Smith after consulting with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The burglary, which occurred at Cary Grove Computers, 115 East Main Street, was reported to Cary police on January 11, 2020, around 5:24 a.m. after a burglar alarm went off.
Officers discovered there was forced entry to the business when they arrived, Cary Deputy Police Chief Scott Naydenoff said at the time.
Authorities reviewed video surveillance from the business and learned that three black males forced entry into the business, stole various electronics estimated at approximately $7,800, and then left the scene eastbound on Route 14.
One of the suspects was identified as Smith.
The suspects fled the scene in a silver GMC Yukon with a North Carolina license plate. Officers used surveillance video to track the car to Chicago, prosecutors said.
Naydenoff said that it is believed the vehicle was a rental car and that there was a fourth suspect waiting inside it during the burglary.
Prosecutors said Smith and the other suspects were identified through surveillance images from another burglary investigation out of Cook County.
It was the second burglary to have occurred at Cary Grove Computers in less than a two-month span.
In November 2019, a man driving a full-size white Ford van used a crowbar to break the window and gain entry to the business.
He stole five Apple iPad boxes that happened to be empty, police said.
The man was never caught and it is unknown if he is one of the same suspects that struck in the second burglary.
Court records show Smith entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office earlier this month.
Smith pleaded guilty to one count of burglary, a Class 2 felony, and was sentenced by McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt to eight and a half years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
In addition to the prison sentence, Smith was ordered to pay over $11,000 in restitution.
“The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office takes crimes of theft and vandalism very seriously as they jeopardize the livelihood and stability of local businesses,” the state’s attorney’s office said following the sentencing.