Prosecutors say masked suspects forced entry to a home in Lindenhurst and stole six guns from the residence before fleeing from responding officers.
The Lindenhurst Police Department responded just after 1 p.m. on February 11 for a 911 call of a residential burglary in progress in the 2500 block of Magnolia Lane.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Vukovich said the caller reported three males wearing all black broke into a house.
Witnesses observed the suspects park their SUV on Highland Drive, walk through a yard and jump over a fence before breaking into the home on Magnolia Lane.
A witness reported the suspects were getting into the SUV on Highland Drive and had stolen a large safe, Vukovich said.
Officers found the gray Nissan SUV nearby on Ironwood Drive.
Vukovich said officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the Nissan but it passed other vehicles while fleeing at a high rate of speed. The pursuit was discontinued.
Officers found a rear window shattered at the scene of the burglary.
One of the residents spoke with officers on the phone and she reported the missing safe belonged to her and contained six guns, including handguns and rifles, Vukovich said.
An alert was sent out to area police departments about the incident and a canvass was conducted in the neighborhood.
A witness told officers they observedย Jeremy R. Chiuffo, 23, of Wauconda, near the residence that day with two other people attempting to gain entry, Vukovich said.
The victims told officers that Chiuffo, who is a relative of one of the victims, had previously lived at the home but moved out on bad terms.
Vukovich said Chiuffo had spoken to the victim earlier in the day to tell her he was unable to attend a family event in Wisconsin that was occurring that day.
The victims reported that Chiuffo was homeless and uses drugs and that he knew nobody would be home at the time when the burglary occurred.
Multiple witnesses observed three or four males wearing all black and face coverings, Vukovich said.
They began recording the offenders as they loaded the safe into the vehicle and fled, which assisted in the identification of Chiuffo.
Vukovich said officers are still working to recover the firearms stolen in the incident.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Chiuffo in April charging him with residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. It is unclear whether the other suspects have been identified or charged yet.
A public defender representing Chiuffo said his client was not involved in the burglary.
Chiuffo was taken into custody on the warrant last week and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted the petition during a detention hearing held on Thursday.
Chiuffo is scheduled to appear in court again on October 31 for a preliminary hearing.