Lake Forest home invasion leads to criminal charges against Chicago teen

Police said he and two others broke into a home on Deerpath Road and held down a woman in her 80s, falsely telling her her house was on fire.

June 24, 2024, 10:33 a.m. CDT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — A Chicago teenager was arrested and charged nearly two months after participating in a home invasion in Lake Forest, police said.

Spanky Miller, 18, of the 5900 block of North Elson Avenue, was arrested Thursday in Chicago by officers from the North Suburban Major Crimes Task Force's burglary team, according to police.

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Police say officers were dispatched to a home invasion in the 1000 block of West Deerpath Road around 8 p.m. on April 27.

Police were told three intruders had forced their way into the home of an 80-year-old woman, telling her her house was on fire.

One member of the burglary team restrained the woman by holding her shoulders while the other two went up to the second floor and stole valuables, including jewelry, before fleeing, police said.

Police said the intruder who restrained the homeowner was described as a white man, while the other two were described as men or boys wearing dark masks.

Witnesses spotted a black pickup truck in the driveway during the burglary, and detectives were able to connect the incident to similar burglaries in other North Shore communities thanks to the truck.

The Lake County State's Attorney's Office approved charges against Miller for residential burglary, criminal trespass and unlawful restraint, the most serious of which is a Class 1 felony. Police then obtained an arrest warrant .

Prosecutors did not charge him with the most serious Class finds there, then to use or threaten to use force against him.

Lake Forest police said the identification of the other two burglars is “in progress.”

“While incidents like these are extremely rare, we understand the impact they have on our community,” said Interim Chief Michael Lange. : From the moment this crime was committed, our agents and investigators have been determined to bring those responsible to justice.

Miller, who also faces criminal charges in another jurisdiction, was ordered held in the Cook County Jail, according to the sheriff's office. A Lake Forest police spokesman said he did not know when he would appear before a judge in Waukegan for an initial appearance.