Greedy Kids ID'd After They Went Back to Burglarize House For 2nd Time: Cops

A trio of young housebreakers got greedy and went back to burglarize a home for the second time in the same day but ran into a resident on the return trip, police said.

The youths — ages 12, 13 and 14 — broke into a house on Clark Street by cutting through a screen and opening a window, police said. They allegedly stole electronics and jewelry and may well have gotten away with it if they hadn’t gotten the idea to go back for more.

When they returned, the youngsters knocked on the door to make sure no one was home. To their surprise, someone answered — a 43-year-old resident had just gotten back home, police said.

The youths pretended they were looking for someone they believed lived at the house. The woman told them the person did not live there and shut the door on them. She realized soon after that her place had been ransacked and she called the police.

The woman was able to describe the youths and the police suspected they knew who they were, as they live in the area.

The 12-year-old was taken into custody at his home. His 13-year-old brother was apprehended at the Church’s Chicken on Collins Street. The 14-year-old was captured when he was arrested for trespassing on Housing Authority of Joliet property, police said.

All three were in possession of property stolen from the house at the time of their arrests, police said.

The youths were taken to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center.

The police said there have been at least a dozen burglaries in that area in the last month and detectives are eyeing the youths as suspects in the break-ins.