Car Stolen In Chicago Found In Glencoe Before Owner Knew It Was Gone, Prosecutor Says

GLENCOE, IL — Authorities said a car stolen Sunday in Rogers Park was tracked to the North Shore and retrieved by police before its owner knew it was gone.

Arkadiusz Sznapka, 58, of the 5400 block of East River Road, Chicago, faces a felony charge of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle and a misdemeanor count of obstructing identification, as well as traffic offenses, in connection with the theft.

Shortly after 5 a.m., a woman parked her Scion hatchback in the lot of at a nursing home in the 1500 block of Fargo Avenue in Chicago, according to prosecutors.

But as she headed into work, she reportedly forgot to remove the key and lock her car.

A few hours later, public safety officers in Glencoe spot the Scion headed north on Sheridan Road, prosecutors said. The officers tried to pull over the driver for lane violations, but he refused to stop.

The officers gave chase for a bit but eventually lost sight and terminated the pursuit, according to prosecutors.

The same Glencoe cop spotted the stolen car in the 200 block of Deer Park Road in Highland Park a short time later, Assistant State's Attorney Clara Malkin said Tuesday at Sznapka's initial court appearance in Skokie.

Sznapka eventually stopped, but he refused to identify himself or cooperate with officers, Malkin said. He only spoke Polish until officers asked him to get out of the car, at which point he was able to speak English.

"[Sznapka] still refused to identify himself and requested that he be transferred to Highland Park Hospital," Malkin said. "Once at the hospital, [he] confirmed his identity with the staff of the hospital, which is how officers were able to obtain his name."

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Officers also found a paystub in Sznapka's sock belonging to the registered owner of the Scion, the prosecutor said.

And they tracked down surveillance video from the area around where the car was stolen, which Malkin said shows Sznapka in the area and someone matching his description drive away in the woman's car.

Automated license plate reader cameras also captured images of the video travelling from Chicago to Glencoe, according to the prosecutor.

A Glencoe Department of Public Safety representative declined to comment on the case, though a detective from the department said in court that Sznapka had a criminal record in Florida involving stolen cars going back to the 1980s.

Sznapka also had previous convictions in Illinois for domestic battery and criminal trespassing, according to court officials. He was most recently arrested by Chicago police in March on an active warrant.

In addition to accusations that he was in possession of a car he knew was stolen and refused to identify himself to public safety officers on Sunday, Sznapka is charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper lane usage and driving without ever having been issued a license.

Sznapka, who refused to participate in Tuesday's court proceedings, was ordered to remain jailed unless he posts the $2,500 cash portion of his bond ahead of his next court appearance June 28 for bond review.