Charges have been filed against a man accused of burglarizing a house in Vernon Hills in broad daylight and then later being shot by a homeowner during another burglary in Chicago.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said a resident called 911 on May 19, 2022, to report her residence in Vernon Hills had possibly been burglarized.
The woman reported she had just come back to her home from the store and heard her alarm activated.
She observed her front door to be damaged and ajar, prompting her to exit through her garage and call the police.
Officers found there was visible damage to her front door from forced entry and the master bedroom appeared to be ransacked, McConnell said.
The resident reported her laptop was missing from her dining room table. Her Canon camera and multiple lenses, along with a pillowcase, were also missing.
Her suitcase had been rummaged through and moved, as had her two jewelry boxes.
Surveillance video recovered showed a male black exiting the passenger side of an older model BMW.
He was seen walking to the front door of a neighbor’s door and attempting to open it before leaving, McConnell said.
Another neighbor saw the same vehicle parked in a no-parking zone near the victim’s home when the burglary occurred.
McConnell said investigators identified the suspect vehicle and learned it was registered to Tywone D. Underwood, 33, of Chicago.
Underwood was believed to be the same suspect seen in the surveillance video.
The Chicago Police Department notified the Vernon Hills Police Department that their department had arrested Underwood just hours later that same day for driving while license suspended while driving the same black BMW used in the burglary.
Officers found numerous items in the BMW that were stolen during the Vernon Hills burglary, including the victim’s laptops and camera, along with a USB drive with hundreds of photographs from the victim’s wedding, McConnell said.
In addition, Underwood had the victim’s stolen jewelry on his own person.
McConnell said Underwood’s fingerprints were found in her home as well and cell phone records placed him in the area at the time of the burglary.
Underwood was not immediately charged in the Vernon Hills burglary.
He was later arrested in October 2022 after a concealed carry holder shot him after catching him burglarizing his home in the 300 block of West 24th Place in Chicago, CWBChicago reported.
Underwood was charged in February 2023 with residential burglary, criminal trespass to residence and criminal damage to property in connection with the Vernon Hills burglary and an arrest warrant was issued.
Underwood was arrested earlier this month in Aurora for aggravated battery to a government employee and has since been transferred to Lake County on the warrant.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Underwood pending trial, calling him a real and present danger to the community as well as a willful flight risk.
The petition was granted by Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim following a detention hearing.
Underwood remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 3 for a status of preliminary hearing.