'Barely' Enough Evidence To Hold 3 On Glencoe Burglary Charges: Judge

GLENCOE, IL — Three members of a suspected burglary crew were charged this week with breaking into a Glencoe home last year, but two other members of the crew remain at large, authorities said.

Three Arlington Heights residents were arrested Tuesday in Wheeling and accused of a separate burglary before appearing in court remotely Thursday in Skokie for an initial hearing before a judge on the Glencoe charges.

After hearing the evidence against them from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, the judge found enough probable cause to justify their detention, but "barely so."

Archie Miller, 44, of the 2300 block of Goebbert Road, Walter Reed, 36, of the 1500 block of East Central Road, and Paul Ely, 24, of the 2400 block of Goebbert Road, face residential burglary charges in connection with an Oct. 10, 2022, incident in Glencoe, according to police and prosecutors.

Glencoe officers dispatched around 3 p.m. that day to an active burglar alarm at a home in the 500 block of Pinewood Drive found a shattered glass window and an open front door, prosecutors said. The officers found multiple rooms had been ransacked, with documents, jewelry and other personal property strewn about.

Assistant State's Attorney Tristin Minx said detectives obtained street camera video of a speeding gray Honda with several people inside just before the burglary. Working with Franklin Park police, they identified Miller's car "within the area of the gray Honda" and put it under surveillance.

After Miller, Reed, Ely and two alleged accomplices were spotted getting out of the Honda and into Miller's car, police pulled them over within hours of the burglary, the prosecutor said.

"Officers recovered a large amount of jewelry, coins and U.S. currency on multiple vehicle occupants' person," Minx said. "Some of the recovered jewelry was identified by the [resident of the burglarized Glencoe house] as her own."

Minx told Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese that none of the trio of recently charged Arlington Heights men were in possession of the Glencoe woman's jewelry.

"I am aware that the two defendants pending re-arrest," Minx explained, "that they did have the jewelry that was identified by the [Glencoe resident] and they were recovered in the presence of the three co-defendants that you have in front of you."

All five occupants of the Honda were released without charges last October, the prosecutor said.

Detectives learned that Miller had rented the Honda from Zipcar and obtained tracking information and GPS data to link it to the burglary, and cell phone data showed him near the location, according to Minx.

Video evidence also showed Miller, Ely and Reed in the Honda before and after the burglary, the prosecutor said. And about two hours after the burglary Reed was spotted selling jewelry, she said, although it is not clear if it was the Glencoe woman's property.

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In a statement released following an inquiry about the case, a Glencoe Public Safety Department spokesperson said the three were taken into custody with the assistance of the North Regional Major Crimes Burglary Task Force following an "extensive investigation" into the burglary.

Deputy Chief Andrew Perley told Patch no warrants have been issued for the two co-defendants who have yet to be re-arrested and his department's investigation continues.

Wheeling police reported that four people were taken into custody around 6:30 p.m. Monday after task force officers took four people in custody on suspicion of taking part in a burglary on Valley Stream Drive. In that incident, Reed, Paul Ely, Alan Ely and Joe Mitchell burglarized the house after falsely claiming to be representatives of the water and utility department.

Investigators with the north suburban burglary task force believe the crew was carried out burglaries in Norridge, South Barrington, Des Plaines and Streamwood prior to their arrest, according to police report.

According to their defense attorneys, Miller supports his wife and two children, Reed lives with his mother and four children and Ely lives with his wife, parents and three children. Both Reed and Ely work in construction, the attorneys said.

Each of the men have considerable criminal records, including convictions for home repair fraud and various forms of theft, in addition to their other pending residential burglary charges, according to the state's attorney's office.

Prior to setting bond, Calabrese boiled down the evidence presented by the prosecution.

"It sounds like you have them together, you have them together before the burglary occurred, you have them together after the burglary occurred, you have the car in which they were in around the area where the burglary happened," the judge said.

"Given the low standard, for purposes of probable cause," Calabrese said, there is sufficient evidence to warrant possible pretrial detention. "But barely so, quite candidly," he said.

Citing "the nature of the allegations and the proof presented" by the prosecution, Calabrese set the cash portion of each man's bond at $2,500, the amount and each of their attorneys said their client was able to post.

All three are due back in court May 25 for the scheduled return of a grand jury indictment.