By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK — Neighbors observed, reported and even confronted two suspected burglars trying to steal a 50-inch TV from a home in the 1800 block of Charter, one of whom was taken into custody that day.
Jamar Mendez Hart, 19, was arraigned Tuesday in 25th District Court on one count each of home invasion and larceny in a building, and police said a second suspect is expected to be charged.
A man and his wife saw one of the suspects walking along Charter about noon Sunday. The man told police he’d recognized him as a resident of the neighborhood, but grew concerned when the suspect opened the gate of another home and began “tampering with the window,” according to police reports.
The neighbor walked to the yard, where he saw Hart and another man leaving the house through a back door. He told the men he’d called police, and was told that they weren’t breaking in, just taking things into the garage for the owner.
The man knew that a woman recently had moved into the house, and told the men he saw them break in.
Hart dropped the 50-inch TV he’d been carrying, and jumped a fence and ran toward Council. The other man left quickly as well.
Responding officers learned that Hart lived on Charter, and soon had him in custody. Investigators continued looking for the second suspect, described as a black man about 6 feet tall.
A preliminary examination of evidence against Hart is scheduled for Tuesday.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)