Elmhurst Police Arrest Melrose Park Man for Breaking into Cars

An observant resident was able to identify a man who allegedly broke into several cars in Elmhurst on May 5.

Ronnie Levandowski, 28, 3005 Alta St., Melrose Park, was arrested and charged with felony burglary to a motor vehicle and felony attempted burglary to a motor vehicle after police say he was seen pulling on handles of parked cars on the 600 block of North Oaklawn at 11:14 p.m. May 5.

Police received a call from a resident who was woken up by his dog barking at something outside. The witness saw a red Ford Mustang traveling northbound on Oaklawn with the headlights off. It stopped and a man got out and began pulling on the door handles of two vehicles parked in a driveway.

Police located the vehicle, and the witness identified Levandowski. Police searched his vehicle and said they found two GPS units that did not belong to the suspect. Police contacted the owner of one of the GPS units, a resident of the 500 block of North Adele. The resident told police he had found his vehicle door open at about 10:30 p.m. that night, but he did not contact police.

During their investigation, police also found a black cloth bag in the intersection of Adele and Armitage at 10:30 p.m. Inside the bag were several papers pertaining to a dog adoption service, Magnificent Mutts. It was determined the bag was stolen, and the owner was located. She said the bag was taken from her vehicle.

Levandowski was taken to DuPage County Jail and his vehicle towed for forfeiture. Levandowski is being held on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on May 14.

Other Vehicle Burglaries Reported

Earlier in the evening, police responded to a call for a possible burglary in progress on the 700 block of North Michigan at 10:52 p.m. May 5. The victims said they were watching TV when they heard a car alarm going off in the driveway. They immediately went outside and saw the front driver side door to their Dodge Durango standing wide open with the alarm sounding. The anti-theft lights were blinking on both of their other vehicles, as well, but they remained locked. Nothing appeared to be missing from the Dodge.

Police also reported that sometime between 10:30 p.m. May 5 and 4 a.m. May 6, someone broke into two vehicles parked on the 500 block of North Howard. Items were scattered about in one of the vehicles, but nothing appeared to be missing.

It was not immediately clear if these incidents are related.

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