Men spotted taking fridge from vacant house

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:44AM

Elgin

Caught in the act: Two men were arrested after allegedly being caught burglarizing a vacant home, police announced Monday. Officers said that shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday they saw the men entering an unoccupied residence in the 1700 block of LinLor Lane. As the officers watched, they said, the men removed a refrigerator and loaded it onto a truck. The men, 46-year-old Tony A. Bell of the 900 block of Bode Road, Elgin, and 43-year-old Natale S. Saraceno, of the 1400 block of Grandview Drive in Algonquin, were each charged with burglary. Bell’s bail was set at $15,000 and Saraceno’s was set at $5,000, and both were being held Monday in the Kane County jail. Police Lt. Glenn Theriault said the department “would like to remind residents to pay extra attention to residences that are vacant, for sale or in foreclosure procedures, as they are more likely to be targeted by would-be thieves and burglars. Residents are encouraged to report all suspicious activity to the police.”

Also caught in the act: A 15-year-old Elgin youth was charged with burglary after the owner of a home in the 100 block of Ann Street found the boy inside his house, police announced Monday. According to reports, the teen used to live near the house. At about 10 p.m. Sunday, he reportedly crawled into the home through a bedroom window and was trying to steal a gaming system when the homeowner confronted him. The homeowner said the boy then ran away, but he was able to identify the teen in a photo lineup and the boy was arrested at about 10 o’clock Monday morning in the 300 block of Center Street. The boy was taken to the Kane County Youth Home to await a detention hearing.

Confronted in bed: Juan M. Villanueva, 22, of the 200 block of Orange Street, Elgin, was charged with a misdemeanor count of battery after an incident inside a home in the 800 block of Oak Street Sunday morning. A 24-year-old resident of the Oak Street house said he was in bed with his girlfriend when Villanueva entered the house and started shouting at him. When he got out of bed, the man told officers, Villanueva pushed him to the floor and kicked a cellphone out of his hand, then pulled a gun out of his own waistband and left the house in a car. Police stopped the car and arrested Villanueva soon afterward. Villanueva’s bail was set at $3,000, and he was given a Feb. 9 court date.

Underscanned groceries: John W. Ahern, 52, of the 3200 block of Banford Circle in Lake in the Hills, was charged with a felony count of retail theft after a loss-prevention officer reportedly saw him under-ringing groceries at the Meijer store at 815 S. Randall Road in Elgin Sunday evening. The officer told police he became suspicious when Ahern passed up vacant full-service checkout registers to wait in line at a self-service checkout. He said he saw Ahern scan bar codes printed out on a piece of paper rather than scanning the more expensive prices of some items in his cart. At other times, the officer said, Ahern would scan one item but put two onto the checkout belt. Altogether, the officer charged, Ahern tried to take $524 worth of groceries while scanning prices that totaled just $125. In bond court Monday, his bail was set at $50,000 and he was assigned a Feb. 15 court date.

Cleaned out: A 29-year-old woman told police someone stole her wallet out of her purse while she was washing clothes Sunday night in the JJ Peppers Laundromat at 20 S. State St. She said the wallet contained someone else’s LINK card, a third person’s debit card and other documents, but no cash.

Another wallet gone: A customer at the Grand Victoria Casino told police someone stole the wallet from her purse while she was gambling on the boat between about 11 p.m. Sunday and 12:15 a.m. Monday.

Purse snatched: A woman shopping at the Walmart store at 1100 S. Randall Road told police someone stole her purse while she was putting jackets onto her two children right after she paid for some purchases there at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

West Dundee

Exposed self to girls: Fedor Jaroszenko, 43, of the 6700 block of Hawthorne Drive, Cary, was charged with felony counts of sexual exploitation of a child under the age of 13 and misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation of a child and public indecency. He is accused of exposing himself to girls on Sunday both at Spring Hill Mall and outside the Wendy’s restaurant on Route 25 in Carpentersville. Bail was set at $100,000, and he was given a Feb. 15 court date.