Prosecutors say a Lakemoor man created a homemade explosive device, which required the bomb squad to respond, and they believe he intended to blow up an alleged sex offender.
Joseph A. Savino, 43, of Lakemoor, was charged with one count of possession of an explosive or incendiary device, a Class 1 felony.
The Lakemoor Police Department responded on October 18 to the 31800 block of Darrell Road in Lakemoor for a report of a burglary.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said a caretaker arrived at the home and found the back door open with miscellaneous items on the porch.
Officers located a plastic bag and a canvas bag hanging on the handle of the back door.
A note was left on the door frame that said, “I will ree pant if you want” and “there is a child molester right down the street look him up.” Savino’s inmate identification card was recovered at the scene, Theis said.
The door was open and inside the residence there was spray paint on the walls consisting of letters and artwork.
Officers took the bags back to the police department where an inventory search was performed.
Theis said an officer located a black bag inside a plastic bag that contained what was later determined to be a homemade explosive device.
The bomb squad was called to the department and they X-rayed the device and confirmed it could be detonated with a flame on the wick.
The X-ray showed there were nails in the device that would act as projectiles if the device were detonated, Theis said.
The bomb squad removed the device and transported it to a controlled environment where they confirmed it was a working device.
Savino was transported to the Lakemoor Police Department on November 24 after being arrested for felony retail theft.
Theis said Savino was interviewed regarding the explosive device case and said he made the device for the purpose of “shooting it off to watch the colors.”
Savino said he went to the house on Darrell Road and was using the home for surveillance of the sex offender, Theis said.
Savino said he had been to the house a few times to surveil the sex offender and admitted to using confetti popper in front of the sex offender’s house.
Savino also admitted to writing and leaving the note and admitted that everything in the bags belonged to him, Theis said.
The crime lab located fingerprints on the components of the device after it was disassembled by the bomb squad.
Theis said the owner of the home on Darrell Road told officers they did not know Savino and did not give him permission to be in the residence.
“This defendant is showing a fixation on an alleged sex offender that is supposed to live in his neighborhood. He broke into a house and used it as a surveillance post so he could watch the sex offender,” Theis said.
“There is strong evidence to support that the alleged sex offender was the target of the device in that the defendant is surveilling the home of the alleged sex offender, the explosive device was designed by the defendant with nail projectiles that would shoot out when the device was ignited, and the defendant had been at the alleged sex offenders house in the past,” Theis said.
“The exploding of a device that has metal shrapnel as part of the device can clearly cause great bodily harm or permanent disability if not death,” the prosecutor added.
An arrest warrant was issued for Savino last week and he was taken into custody and appeared in First Appearance Court on Tuesday morning.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Savino pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community, and the request was granted by Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim.
Savino has been arrested approximately 69 times as an adult and has a juvenile case for attempted murder. He also has multiple other pending criminal cases since the Lakemoor offense occurred.
Savino remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 27 for a preliminary hearing.