A man told police that he saw a bag of Fritos sitting on a car’s seat while on drugs, which lured him in to steal the vehicle, before he burglarized several vehicles in Ingleside.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a theft on June 23, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis.
A man was at CrossPoint Church in Ingleside and when he returned to his car he could not find his wallet, which had $400 in cash and his credit cards and other important documents.
The victim was notified by his bank later that day about suspicious purchases made on one of his credit cards in Fox Lake.
Theis said the purchases were made at McDonald’s, Walgreens, Shell and Family Dollar in Fox Lake.
Video footage was reviewed and it showed Shawn M. Johnson, 46, of Richmond, get out of an older model pickup truck and walk to a motel, Theis said.
Johnson was seen again on video a short time later walking into the McDonald’s at the same time the victim’s credit card was used to purchase food, Theis said.
The pickup truck involved was stolen out of Beloit, Wisconsin.
Johnson was interviewed by members of the sheriff’s office after he was taken into custody in Wisconsin.
He identified himself in the McDonald’s surveillance video and admitted to stealing the pickup truck, Theis said.
Johnson said he was walking around when he saw a bag of Fritos sitting on the front seat of the truck so he opened the door and saw the keys were inside, which led him to steal the vehicle, Theis said.
Johnson reported he was staying at the Fox Lake Motel and admitted to burglarizing several vehicles at the Crosspoint Church in Ingleside, including stealing the wallet belonging to the male victim who made the report with the sheriff’s office, Theis said.
Johnson admitted to using the credit card at several locations, including McDonald’s. He said drove the stolen pickup truck back to Beloit where he abandoned it.
Johnson claimed he committed the crimes because he was on drugs, Theis said.
He was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, burglary, two counts of identity theft and unlawful possession of an identification card.
At the time of the incident, Johnson was already on pre-trial release in Lake County for two other similar cases, which he was released from jail on just one month prior to his latest offenses.
Lake County Judge Ari Fisz granted petitions to revoke Johnson’s pre-trial release and remanded him to the Lake County Jail pending trial.