Details reveal how a massive multi-jurisdictional investigation linked three men to several organized burglaries in Illinois and Wisconsin, leading to a slew of police and SWAT officers descending on their Gurnee homes and arresting them earlier this month.
Ali B. Ivanov, 47, of the 7100 block of Brae Court in Gurnee; Janko C. Petrov, 32, of the 7100 block of Brae Court in Gurnee; and his brother Angelo Petrov, 33, of the 800 block of Ravinia Drive in Gurnee, were all charged in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, with three counts of burglary of a building or dwelling as a party to a crime.
Both Ivanov and Janko reside in the same block of Brae Court, but three houses away from each other, according to a criminal complaint filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
The charges stem from burglaries in three separate towns in Waukesha County – Elm Grove, Brookfield and New Berlin.
Detectives have also linked the three with a July 2025 residential burglary in Des Plaines and several other burglaries in Wisconsin.
On April 13, Elm Grove Police obtained arrest warrants and four residential search warrants for the trio before a slew of police and SWAT officers descended on their Gurnee homes and executed the warrants in the early morning hours of April 14.
The massive investigation linking the burglaries began after Elm Grove Police responded on November 9, 2025, to a home on Victoria Circle North in Elm Grove for a report of a burglary.
The homeowner found their house had been broken into, and a safe with approximately $50,000 in U.S. currency, a gun, passports, business records, safety deposit box keys and a gold wedding band were stolen, the complaint said.
When officers arrived, they found a window on the east side of the home had been forcibly breached with pry marks consistent with tool usage.
“The entry point was corroborated by physical damage and a front window was also found open,” the complaint said.
Police searched the home and confirmed the safe was stolen from a master bedroom closet. Other valuables were not taken.
The homeowner provided surveillance video to police, which showed a male suspect forcing entry through the window earlier in the evening, the complaint said.
Two male suspects were seen on video exiting the front door around four minutes after the break-in.
“One of the suspects is carrying the safe and appears to be holding a cellphone with an illuminated screen, while the second suspect runs behind him as they flee northeast through the circular driveway toward Victoria Circle North,” the complaint said.
Detectives believed the burglary was pre-planned due to the coordination and speed of the suspects.
Detectives obtained search warrants for Google records and identified Janko as one of the suspects.
“A review of the Google account for Janko Petrov revealed evidence of organized residential burglary activity beyond the Elm Grove burglary on November 9, 2025,” the complaint said.
“Detective Lenardic also observed a pattern of targeting specifically Asian and ethnic business owners and consistent with an organized burglary crew operating in Wisconsin and Illinois.”
Investigators also learned that Janko has prior burglary convictions from a series of burglaries in 2015, which also involved entering into unoccupied residences and stealing cash, jewelry and other valuables consistent with what was stolen in the Elm Grove burglary.
Detectives further obtained search warrants for T-Mobile and identified his brother, Angelo, as an additional suspect in the Elm Grove burglary.
Angelo, who was also convicted in the same series of burglaries in 2015, had consistent phone contact with Janko, T-Mobile records showed.
The phone contacts show patterns that detectives believe are consistent with the two brothers traveling and moving in coordination, the complaint said.
As detectives continued to comb through Angelo’s phone records, they identified communications with phone numbers linked to a 2024 residential burglary in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, where the victim was also an Asian business owner.
Surveillance video from the Wauwatosa burglary showed the suspects wearing clothing and gear that were identical to clothing and gear used in other residential burglaries in Illinois and Wisconsin, the complaint said.
The voices of the suspects in the Wauwatosa burglary are consistent with Ivanov and Janko, the complaint added.
Elm Grove police detectives later linked the three suspects to the July 2025 burglary in Des Plaines.
In that case, two suspects were taken into custody, while the other two suspects escaped.
One of the suspects taken into custody was Ivanov, who lives three houses down from Janko on Brae Court in Gurnee.
Elm Grove detectives worked with the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force’s (NORTAF) burglary task force and, using records from Janko’s iCloud account, linked him and Angelo as the two who allegedly escaped from the Des Plaines burglary.
Detectives found that Janko’s iCloud account “included stored content such as photographs, videos, communications, contacts, and text documents relevant to this investigation,” the complaint said.
“Detective Lenardic also reviewed communications in the iCloud account related to the Des Plaines burglary and noted communications discussing how Janko Petrov and Angelo Petrov had escaped apprehension by law enforcement.”
One of the video recordings on the iCloud account allegedly showed Ivanov becoming frustrated at the Petrov brothers and accusing them of “pocketing” certain high-value items, like an elderly woman’s ring they allegedly stole, instead of sharing the proceeds among the group.
Despite Ivanov’s frustration, he allegedly stated that “he did not want the group to ‘break up’ because they are ‘too good together,'” the complaint detailed.
Detectives also learned that the crew was using “burner” phones, adding that records show the burner phone numbers were most frequently active during the burglaries in Illinois and Wisconsin, while their primary phones were left at their Gurnee residences, the complaint said.
“Based on training and experience, Detective Lenardic reports this type of ‘event-based’ activation pattern is consistent with burner-phone use by organized offenders who limit routine usage and only activate devices for travel coordination and offense execution,” the complaint said.
Detectives mapped the phones’ historical locations, which show “repeated presence” near the defendants’ residences before and after times of known burglaries.
Detectives also gathered location indicators showing the burner phone numbers were at or near the cell sites closest to their victims’ residences during the burglaries.
One of the burner phone numbers was linked to financial account activity tied to Ivanov, law enforcement intelligence resources allegedly showed.
Elm Grove detectives also linked the three defendants to a February 2025 residential burglary in New Berlin as well as a May 2025 residential burglary in Brookfield.
For the New Berlin burglary, $5,000 U.S. currency, $4,000 Canadian currency, 3,000 Japanese Yen currency, multiple expensive pieces of jewelry, and a safety deposit box key were stolen.
High-value jewelry items were also stolen in the Brookfield burglary, along with signs of forced entry consistent with past incidents.
Detectives believe the trio was involved in the New Berlin and Brookfield burglaries because both victims are Asian business owners, the method of operation of the burglars and items targeted are consistent with other burglaries, and because of burner phone records linking them.
“Detective Lenardic reports that during the Brookfield burglary timeframe on May 31, 2025, location indicators for the burner devices are consistent with the devices utilizing the closest serving cell site(s) to Victim C’s residence during the offense window, specifically at 9:15 p.m. a call between both phone numbers,” the complaint said. “Further records of these burner phones reflect activity near the defendant’s residences in Illinois, which includes routine use of their primary devices.”
“This is consistent with the defendants communicating prior to and after the offense, activating burner devices for travel and coordination, committing the offense in Wisconsin, and then returning to Illinois with subsequent resumption of routine primary device activity,” the complaint said.
In the complaint, prosecutors asked the court to order the crew’s Mercedes GLS 450 SUV, which was allegedly used in the burglaries, to be forfeited if the three are convicted.
The Mercedes is also linked to a FLOCK license plate reading camera hit in Franklin, Wisconsin, the same day a residential burglary occurred in the city where approximately $200,000 in cash was stolen.
Detectives have also linked the crew with an April 2025 residential burglary in Mequon, Wisconsin, based on their voices and spoken language.
Residential surveillance video from the Mequon burglary showed the lead burglar announcing “police” twice before the camera was disconnected.
One of the burglars was addressed as “Janko/Janka,” followed by “Da” which means “yes” in Serbo-Croatian, the video showed.
The “police” announcement in the Mequon burglary sounded identical to a similar announcement made in the Des Plaines burglary, the complaint said.
The trio is believed to be part of an “extended Yugoslavian family” who have been involved in organized residential burglaries for generations and commonly target Asian or Middle Eastern business owners, the complaint said.
Both Janko and Angelo remain held in the Waukesha County Jail, while Ivanov remains held in the Cook County Jail.
Janko and Angelo are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 6 at the Waukesha County Courthouse.
It’s unclear when Ivanov will be extradited from Cook County to Waukesha County to face charges there.
“This case highlights the importance of coordinated investigative efforts when addressing organized criminal activity that impacts multiple communities,” Elm Grove Assistant Police Chief Ryan Unger said.
“Elm Grove Police remain committed to pursuing those responsible for crimes that threaten the safety and security of our residents,” Unger added.