A Round Lake Beach man was arrested on Wednesday following a months-long investigation and is accused of breaking into an Antioch restaurant in November and stealing a safe that had almost $200,000 in it.
Antioch Police Department Commander and Public Information Officer Jared Brussaly said officers received a report of a delayed burglary to a business at Dockers North, 955 Route 59, at around 8 a.m. on November 27.
Officers met with the business owner, who reported that an unknown suspect had forced entry into the restaurant by smashing through the glass doors.
Officers obtained surveillance footage from the restaurant, which showed the burglary occurring at around 5 a.m. that same morning.
The suspect stole a safe that had $150,000 to $200,000 in currency and fled the scene, Brussaly said.
“During the incident, the offender took deliberate steps in an attempt to conceal his identity,” Brussaly said.
Antioch police detectives launched an investigation spanning several months.
Police eventually identified the alleged burglar as Quinn M. Cahill, 28, of Round Lake Beach.
Detectives worked with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office to obtain a warrant for Cahill’s arrest.
On Wednesday, the Antioch Police Department, with assistance from the Round Lake Beach Police Department, executed the warrant and arrested Cahill in Round Lake Beach.
Cahill was charged with theft of property exceeding $100,000 but not exceeding $500,000, burglary, and criminal damage to property that exceeds $500 but does not exceed $10,000.
He appeared at the Lake County Courthouse for his first appearance hearing on Thursday morning and his detention hearing later in the afternoon.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Moy asked Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim to revoke Cahill’s pre-trial release, arguing that Cahill allegedly committed the burglary while on pre-trial release for a traffic case where he was charged with driving on a suspended license.
Cahill was allegedly linked to the timeframe and area of the burglary from Flock license plate reading cameras, witness statements and phone records, Moy said.
Cahill’s attorney, Loren Blumenfeld, argued that prosecutors’ evidence is not “clear and convincing,” adding that the evidence does not show that he committed the burglary and only shows he was allegedly in the area.
“Judge, there’s no evidence of him going inside this restaurant that was burgled. There’s no evidence that he committed any burglary,” Blumenfeld said.
His attorney added that Cahill has appeared for all of his court dates in the last six months and has not committed any new criminal offenses.
“At this point, to incarcerate him is not right,” Blumenfeld told Nerheim.
Nerheim considered what both sides told him and also considered Cahill’s recent history of consistently appearing for his court dates.
Nerheim denied prosecutors’ petition and ordered Cahill be released with conditions, including not having contact with the Dockers North restaurant.
Antioch Police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow credited his detectives for their work in investigating the case.
“This arrest is the result of months of persistent investigative work by our detectives and officers,” Guttschow said.
“I want to especially commend our detectives for their outstanding efforts in investigating this case, identifying the offender, and safely taking him into custody. Their work not only solved this crime, but removed the offender from our community,” Guttschow said.
The police chief issued a stern warning to those who may be planning to commit similar crimes in Antioch.
“We will use every available tool at our disposal to help prevent crimes like this from happening, and when they do occur, we will follow the evidence, identify those responsible, and use every lawful means available to hold them accountable to the fullest extent possible,” Guttschow added.
Cahill is next scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 15.