Palatine Man Crawling Through Bushes Caught WIth Lock Picks: Cops

PALATINE, IL — A Palatine man on parole for a burglary conviction was arrested Tuesday after officers discovered him with lock-picking tools after they saw him allegedly crawling through the bushes outside neighboorhood homes, police said. Andrew Paprocki, 22, of the 800 block of North Virginia Lake Court, was charged with felony possession of burglary tools and misdemeanor criminal trespass to property. He was released from prison in September after serving a sentence for a 2015 burglary conviction, according to a Palantine Police Department statement.

According to police, officers on foot patrol in the 130 block of East Carpenter Drive spotted Paprocki crouched and walking in front of several homes. The officers confronted him after seeing him crawl through the bushes in the backyard of one of the homes, police said. Paprocki was carrying lock-picking tools at the time, and he couldn't explain to the officers why he was on the property, according to police. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Palatine news. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Once in custody, investigators discovered that Paprocki was connected to another case in the same area he was arrested, police said. In this case that involved incidents occurring June 5 and Tuesday, June 13, residents heard noises outside their house overnight, and the next morning, the family noticed their patio furniture had been moved in a way that made it appear like it was used to let someone look through the home's window, according to police.

Because of that incident, Paprocki was additionally charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass to property and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Bail was set at $2,500 for this case and $10,000 for the case connected to the original arrest. His next court date is July 6 for the Tuesday arrest and July 25 for the first incident.

Andrew Paprocki, 22 (Photo via the Palatine Police Department)

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