Two men have been arrested in a house burglary spree that occurred across several communities in Lake County and officials say that one suspect confronted residents at least twice while yelling “fire.”
Matthew Ristick, 18, of Chicago, and Kevin Miller, 26, of Arlington Heights, were arrested by detectives on Thursday, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
Residences in unincorporated Libertyville, unincorporated Gurnee and Lincolnshire were burglarized on Sunday. A home in Highland Park was burglarized on Wednesday.
Members of the Lincolnshire Police Department, Highland Park Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force (NORTAF) reviewed surveillance video and other evidence, developing leads indicating Ristick and Miller were responsible for the burglaries, Covelli said.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kailey Hopkins said officers were conducting surveillance and observed a black GMC pickup truck, occupied by Ristick and his wife, on video surveillance at a gas station around 3:50 p.m. Sunday.
The burglary law enforcement task force saw the vehicle leave the gas station and it drove to a residence in Gurnee where it was from 4:14 to 4:21 p.m.
Ristick smashed the rear window of the residence and made entry to the home, Hopkins said.
Officers observed a footprint with a distinctive grid square pattern. The victim of the residence was not home but later spoke to officers and told them that jewelry had been taken from the residence.
Hopkins said Ristick had stolen three rings, 12 necklaces and two jewelry boxes.
Officers continued surveillance and saw the suspects arrive at a residence in unincorporated Libertyville.
The victim of the residence was not home at the time of the burglary but the service man for the property, who lives on the property, noticed that a light was on inside the house.
He knew no one was supposed to be inside so he made his way to the residence, Hopkins said.
The other occupant of the pickup truck started to honk the horn as the service man approached.
Hopkins said the service man entered the residence and saw Ristick inside the home with a bedsheet full of items removed from the second-floor bedroom as he was coming down the stairs.
Ristick began yelling “fire” when he was confronted and ran from the residence while dropping a blue surgical glove that he was wearing, Hopkins said. The glove matched the surveillance footage from the gas station.
The witness identified Ristick through a photo lineup that was conducted on Monday.
Officers continued to conduct surveillance on the vehicle and Ristick drove to Lincolnshire to commit another residential burglary, which was reported around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Hopkins said.
Officers met with the victims, who stated that they observed their door was wide open.
The victims saw that a patio paver was thrown through the sliding door glass in the rear of the home.
Officers checked the residence and observed that the master bedroom had been ransacked. The victim said that multiple jewelry pieces were missing.
She said that the total loss was between $10,000 and 15,000. The residents said they had left their home around 5:20 p.m. and returned home at 6:30 p.m., Hopkins said.
Officers conducted a canvas of the neighborhood and obtained surveillance footage, which showed a black GMC truck in the neighborhood between 5:20 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The burglary task force confirmed to officers that they were conducting electronic surveillance on the vehicle and that it was in the area at 5:36 p.m.
The vehicle was parked in front of the residence for approximately 8-9 minutes, Hopkins said.
Officers were collecting evidence and observed a unique footprint impression in the snow by the residence, which they believed to belong to Ristick. The footprint pattern was a grid with square shapes.
Hopkins said Ristick was wearing a pair of shoes that would leave those impressions when he was arrested by the Highland Park Police Department.
The GMC Sierra pickup truck was linked to other burglaries in Cook and Will counties, in addition to Lake County.
The Highland Park burglary occurred on Wednesday and the GMC pickup truck was in the area from 10:09 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
Officers observed shattered glass by the rear door to the residence, Hopkins said. Officers also found a concrete umbrella stand, believed to have been used to break the glass, inside the residence.
The victim was in her bedroom at the time when she heard knocking. She walked to another bedroom in the residence and observed a black colored pickup truck in the driveway.
She then heard glass shatter on the first floor and observed a male wearing a dark gray colored jacket and a dark colored baseball cap near her security system, Hopkins said.
She said that he appeared to be trying to turn her alarm system off. She yelled “police” multiple times and attempted to call the police.
The offender yelled “fire” in an attempt to get her out of the residence, Hopkins said.
The victim said the suspect then unlocked the front door and left the residence.
Officers observed foot impressions in the snow, which matched the other residential burglary that occurred in Lincolnshire.
Officers continued surveillance on the GMC and followed it as it left the residence in Highland Park.
Hopkins said the vehicle was followed to a BP gas station in Chicago at approximately 10:38 p.m. where officers observed both Miller and Ristick in the vehicle.
Officers continued to follow the vehicle as it traveled to Tinley Park. The vehicle was stationary in front of another residence where officers then received another call regarding a burglary.
There were footprints outside the residence that matched the footprints from the Highland Park and Lincolnshire burglaries, Hopkins said.
Officers continued to follow the vehicle and the vehicle went to three houses.
The vehicle became stationary in Chicago around 3:50 p.m. Thursday and officers boxed the vehicle in and arrested Miller and Ristick.
Officers observed proceeds from the residential burglaries in plain view, Hopkins said. Miller was holding a teal jewelry box in his lap and Ristick had proceeds from the Tinley Park burglary on his person.
Investigators interviewed Miller, who said that Ristick was “up to no good” and knew he had committed a burglary after Tinley Park, Hopkins said.
Miller told investigators he was helping to sort through the jewelry that was stolen. He said that Ristick would tell the elderly victims that there was a fire and was responsible for entering the homes, Hopkins said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against Ristick of four counts of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony, and one count of residential burglary against Miller.
“This defendant has been targeting residences of individuals who are above or around the age of 70. Yelling fire in order to scare the victims and get them to leave their homes. The defendant committed a string of residential burglaries in a matter of days and will continue to do so if he is released from custody,” Hopkins said regarding Ristick.
“The defendant is targeting people and taking advantage of a population of individuals that he believes he can take advantage of. He is calculated and commits multiple burglaries per day,” she said regarding the two suspects, adding that Miller was a willing participant.
The state’s attorney’s office filed petitions to detain Ristick and Miller and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim ordered both detained pending trial following detention hearings on Friday afternoon.
Covelli said NORTAF and area police detectives continue to investigate and additional charges are possible.