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Three men have been arrested and charged in connection to more than 60 car break-ins and robberies in East Peoria, two of whom were caught in Morton.
David Terrell, 26, of 331 Randolph St., Christopher Wilson, 27, of 308 Cass St. and Brian Martinson, 27, of Creve Coeur were arrested and charged with felony counts of burglary last week.
Terrell and Martinson are both being charged with two counts of felony burglary while Wilson is charged with one felony burglary count.
The three men are being held in the Tazewell County Jail, with Terrell and Martinson on $50,000 bond and Wilson on $25,000 bond.
After a slew of break-ins that began on March 16, Morton police caught Terrell and Martinson breaking into a vehicle at 11:30 p.m. March 22. Terrell and Martinson later implicated Wilson.
While 67 burglaries have been reported in East Peoria as of March 25, areas in Tazewell County and Morton have also experienced car robberies. The police estimate a total of 80 break-ins in Tazewell County.
The majority of the East Peoria break-ins occurred in the 3100-3600 block area of Bloomington Road, with the majority of the stolen items being small electronics.
Martinson and Terrell admitted to breaking into cars on Stanley Street, Ridge Street and Circle Drive in Morton.
“There was a relatively low value (of the stolen items) because of what was taken,” Deputy Chief Chris Hutt said. “Minus the GPS and electronics stolen, the most common item stolen was currency and cigarettes. It was a low value for the quantity of burglaries.”
Laura Ball, a resident of Pine Street in East Peoria, added that the burglars took “mostly real quick stuff” and littered the neighborhood and nearby walking trail with some of the items that they did keep.
Ball said that her son had his vehicle broken into, and his window was smashed with a rock, which scattered glass across his car and the family’s driveway.
“It makes me so mad having people go onto your property and stealing from you,” Ball said. “They don’t work and my son works hard for everything he has and they just go and take it.”
Hutt added that while some of the thefts came from forced entry to vehicles, the majority were from vehicles that were unlocked.
The police have recovered a significant amount of the stolen merchandise and are working to match the recovered items to their owners.
Hutt asked anyone who has not reported a vehicle break-in to report it to the police department immediately. The East Peoria Police Department’s non-emergency line is 698-4700.
Three men have been arrested and charged in connection to more than 60 car break-ins and robberies in East Peoria, two of whom were caught in Morton.
David Terrell, 26, of 331 Randolph St., Christopher Wilson, 27, of 308 Cass St. and Brian Martinson, 27, of Creve Coeur were arrested and charged with felony counts of burglary last week.
Terrell and Martinson are both being charged with two counts of felony burglary while Wilson is charged with one felony burglary count.
The three men are being held in the Tazewell County Jail, with Terrell and Martinson on $50,000 bond and Wilson on $25,000 bond.
After a slew of break-ins that began on March 16, Morton police caught Terrell and Martinson breaking into a vehicle at 11:30 p.m. March 22. Terrell and Martinson later implicated Wilson.
While 67 burglaries have been reported in East Peoria as of March 25, areas in Tazewell County and Morton have also experienced car robberies. The police estimate a total of 80 break-ins in Tazewell County.
The majority of the East Peoria break-ins occurred in the 3100-3600 block area of Bloomington Road, with the majority of the stolen items being small electronics.
Martinson and Terrell admitted to breaking into cars on Stanley Street, Ridge Street and Circle Drive in Morton.
“There was a relatively low value (of the stolen items) because of what was taken,” Deputy Chief Chris Hutt said. “Minus the GPS and electronics stolen, the most common item stolen was currency and cigarettes. It was a low value for the quantity of burglaries.”
Laura Ball, a resident of Pine Street in East Peoria, added that the burglars took “mostly real quick stuff” and littered the neighborhood and nearby walking trail with some of the items that they did keep.
Ball said that her son had his vehicle broken into, and his window was smashed with a rock, which scattered glass across his car and the family’s driveway.
“It makes me so mad having people go onto your property and stealing from you,” Ball said. “They don’t work and my son works hard for everything he has and they just go and take it.”
Hutt added that while some of the thefts came from forced entry to vehicles, the majority were from vehicles that were unlocked.
The police have recovered a significant amount of the stolen merchandise and are working to match the recovered items to their owners.
Hutt asked anyone who has not reported a vehicle break-in to report it to the police department immediately. The East Peoria Police Department’s non-emergency line is 698-4700.
