$1,000 Cash Stolen By 'Water Department Contractor': Forfeiture

JOLIET — The Will County State's Attorney's Office has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Sammy Mealka, a Palos Heights man, asking that a Will County judge keep Mealka's 2020 Chevrolet Silverado in connection with a Joliet ruse burglary and theft.

According to the forfeiture complaint, Joliet police officers Long and Woods responded to the home in the 1300 block of Colorado Avenue on Jan. 29 after learning that a male suspect, claiming to be from the water department, had forced his way into the caller's house. The suspect drove away in a newer model Chevy pickup truck with dark tinted windows.

The homeowner told Joliet police that at around 1:45 p.m., a white man, 5-foot-10 with a big round build, and with dark-colored hair and facial stubble, came to his front door. The man claimed to be "John Kowalski" and said he was a contractor with the water department. The suspect said he needed to enter the home to inspect the contaminated water supply, according to police.

The Joliet homeowner asked the man for his ID and the suspect said he did not have any. Although the homeowner told him he may not enter the home, Sammy Mealka walked into the doorway and the homeowner moved out of the way to avoid being pushed, the forfeiture noted.

Mealka, the man pretending to be John Kowalski, then went into the Joliet homeowner's kitchen and turned on the water, according to court documents. He told the homeowner to stay close to him to see everything he was doing and claimed there were brown spectacles in the water. According to court documents, the homeowner insisted he did not see anything unusual, and told Mealka to leave.

That's when Mealka put on his gloves and went into the basement and told the homeowner to follow, the forfeiture complaint indicated. In the basement, Mealka turned on the faucet and insisted he saw brown spectacles in the water and that he needed to stay in the basement, prosecutors said.

When the homeowner tried to go upstairs, court documents say Mealka tried to block him and insisted they needed to check the water valve. Finally, the homeowner told Mealka to leave, and both men walked upstairs. Mealka left and drove away in the pickup that is the subject of the forfeiture.

Afterward, the Joliet homeowner went into his bedroom and found personal items on his dresser were moved and a cupboard in his closet was opened, the forfeiture states. The homeowner notified Joliet police that $1,000 in $100 bills were stolen from a BMO envelope in his dresser during the incident.

On Feb. 3, Joliet police put together a six-person photo line-up, but the homeowner was not able to identify the suspect. After obtaining the license plates for the vehicle, a Palos Heights police officer notified Joliet police "that everything matches including damage to the front passenger side bumper."

The vehicle registered back to Sammy Mealka of Palos Heights. Meanwhile, a detective with Summit Police notified Joliet police detective Kilgore that back in 2020, he investigated a similar ruse burglary with the exact same vehicle. During that crime, the victim indicated that two Hispanic men entered her house and took approximately $50,000 to $100,000 in cash.

On Feb. 3, a Joliet police SWAT team went to 127th Street in Palos Heights to impound Mealka's vehicle. Inside the rear seat of Mealka's pickup truck, prosecutors say Joliet police found a black North Face jacket vest, a pair of black gloves, a black balaclava mask, two tinted license plate covers, two screwdrivers, generic blacktop sealer forms in the backseat. In the front interior of the Chevy Silverado were six walkie-talkie radios, a pair of gloves and a tan baseball cap, the forfeiture outlined.