The City of Waukegan’s License Director, who once ran for mayor, has been arrested along with her two brothers for allegedly committing a home invasion that left a victim injured.
Susana Figueroa, 60, of Waukegan; Juan C. Figueroa, 54; and Jose L. Figueroa, 55, of Waukegan, are each charged with one count of home invasion causing injury, a Class X felony, and criminal trespass to residence with person present, a Class 4 felony.
Juan Figueroa was additionally charged with one count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony.
The Waukegan Police Department responded on Friday to an apartment in the 600 block of 10th Street in Waukegan after being notified by the North Chicago Police Department that a victim had been beaten.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said the victim was transported to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
Officers went to the hospital and spoke with the victim, who said he was home with a female friend and they were in bed together.
Theis said Susana Figueroa, who is his landlord, suddenly came into the victim’s apartment with two men, later identified as Juan Figueroa and Jose Figueroa, without warning.
Jose Figueroa punched the victim in the face and Juan Figueroa hit the victim in the head with a metal pipe, Theis said.
The victim ran out of the apartment and out of the building where he flagged down the police.
The victim had a laceration to his head that required five staples to close.
Theis said officers found blood in the apartment consistent with the victim’s story.
The victim’s furniture was in the hallway outside of the apartment and on the stairwell landing there was a bag with the victim’s bloody sheet.
Theis said Susana Figueroa, Jose Figueroa and Juan Figueroa were all located inside the apartment. The victim positively identified the three suspects.
Jose Figueroa told investigators that he and his brother, Juan, had come to help Susana, who is their sister, clear out an apartment.
He said they knocked on the door of the apartment but nobody answered so they entered, at which time the victim charged him with a butter knife and he punched the victim in the face while his brother hit the victim with a metal pipe, Theis said.
Juan Figueroa told investigators they were there to help his sister empty the apartment and entered after knocking but received no answer.
Juan Figueroa claimed the victim came at him with a butter knife and his brother punched the victim in the head, Theis said.
He said he and the victim had separated briefly but the victim came at him again and that is when he hit the victim with the pipe.
Officers had contact at the same location earlier in the day when the property manager for the apartment building called police seeking assistance in evicting the same tenant, Theis said.
Officers explained to the property manager at that time that he could not evict the tenant without going through the court system.
Theis said the property manager was accompanying the three suspects at the time of the home invasion but remained in the hall after opening the door and seeing the tenant with the woman.
Susana Figueroa told investigators she had given the victim a five-day notice to vacate but had not done anything else.
The state’s attorney’s office later became aware that Susana Figueroa filed for an order of protection against the victim, effectively evicting the victim from the building in an effort to circumvent the court eviction process, Theis said.
“This defendant showed up at her apartment building with her two brothers, one of whom brought a metal pipe. The three then entered the victim’s apartment without permission, knowing the door lock was broken. The victim was in bed with a lady friend when they burst in and began beating the victim,” Theis said.
“Then, while the victim is out of the apartment looking for police and going to the hospital, the defendant and her codefendants empty the victim’s apartment, throwing everything into the hall. They took the victim’s bloody sheets and hid them on the stair landing away from the rest of the victim’s belongings,” Theis said.
“It is clear when they were told they could not evict the tenant without going to court, the defendants decided to take matters into their own hands and when that failed, the defendant went and got an order of protection against the victim,” the prosecutor added.
All three suspects were transported to the Lake County Jail and the state’s attorney’s office filed petitions to detain them pending trial.
A detention hearing was held on Tuesday afternoon, at which time prosecutors told Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim that they were withdrawing their petitions after discussing with the suspects’ attorneys because they “decided there were [pre-trial] conditions that were sufficient” instead of jail.
Susana Figueroa is currently employed by the City of Waukegan as the city’s License Director and has worked for the city since 1995. She previously ran for mayor in 2013 but lost to Wayne Motley.
Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Susana Figueroa’s employment status following her arrest.
“The City of Waukegan does not comment on personnel matters in order to protect employee privacy and maintain the confidentiality of human resources processes,” a City of Waukegan spokesperson told Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
The three defendants are scheduled to appear in court again on January 16 for a status of preliminary hearing.