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‘Collective effort’ nabs burglary suspect in Evanston
Updated: January 7, 2013 6:45AM
EVANSTON — A victim kept track of an alleged burglar after he left her house, alerting a city dispatcher to his moves and leading to the 44-year-old Chicago man’s arrest.
Kelly J. Skamra of 527 W. 14th Place is facing burglary charges. He is due to appear Dec. 13 in Second Municipal District Court, police said.
The incident happened about 11:20 a.m. Saturday. An Evanston Police Department dispatcher received a call from a 37-year-old resident who reported her residence in the 500 block of Grey Avenue had been burglarized, police said.
The victim said her son and daughter, both juveniles, were home at the time but fled after the suspect — having received no answer upon ringing the front door bell — forced his way in through a side door, police said.
The victim, who was in mobile phone contact with her son at the time, said her son observed the burglar leave with a laptop computer, police said.
The victim was able to receive updates from her son and provide a description, as well as direction of travel, which was relayed to responding officers, said Perry Polinski, the department’s media relations officer.
A suspect matching the burglar’s description was stopped in the 300 block of Dodge Avenue, he said.
Polinski said a show-up resulted in the positive identification of Skamra. He said proceeds from the burglary were recovered, and the individual was taken into custody.
“It was a collective effort on the part of the son, the mother and the dispatcher, and of course the responding officers,” Polinski said Monday.
Skamra was paroled Oct. 19 after serving about six years of a 12-year sentence for residential burglary.
