Elgin police officer finds burglar in his own home
By Dave Gathman dgathman@stmedianetwork.com January 3, 2013 2:26AM
Ryan Hukill, arrested by an Elgin patrol officer when he stopped home for lunch while on patrol and observed Hukill burglarizing his home.
Updated: February 5, 2013 6:20AM
ELGIN — A burglary suspect was in jail Thursday thanks to a terrible choice of target and even worse timing the night before.
Police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault said an Elgin police officer was on dinner break, midway through his shift on duty, when he stopped off at his own home on Redtail Ridge to eat a meal at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday. He lives in a second-floor condominium there.
The officer became alarmed when he noticed a light on in the home and the screen missing from a window. Then he saw a man inside through the window, the officer reported.
The intruder, in turn, noticed that the officer was shining a flashlight into the bedroom and tried to run out of the building through the front door. But the officer grabbed him and took him into custody.
According to a court document submitted by prosecutors, the intruder turned out to be the officer’s neighbor, 21-year-old Ryan J. Hukill. According to the document, he had gotten in by forcing open the window and then had used a crowbar to pry open a bedroom door. He had stolen a pair of handcuffs from the apartment, the document said, and apparently had tried to pry open the officer’s gun safe but had not yet been able to steal any weapons.
Hukill was charged with one felony count of burglary. In bond court Thursday, a judge set his bail at $75,000 and scheduled a Jan. 17 court hearing. He was being held in the Kane County jail in lieu of bond.
The officer’s name was not released, but Theriault said the man is a 17-year veteran of the department.
