Brian Slodysko/TribLocal reporter
A 19-year-old Cicero man accused of prowling cars for several days and stealing a car from 1500 block of 71st Street in Downers Grove was arrested by Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills police, officials said on Wednesday.
Matthew Augustine, of the 1800 block of South 55th Street in Cicero, was near the stolen car before he briefly tried to flee police at 3 a.m. Aug. 20, police said. He was arrested along a side street near the intersection of Coe Road and Ogden Avenue in Clarendon Hills, police said.
In his possession were a number of GPS devices, iPods, a backpack, a briefcase and loose change, said Sgt. Dave Bormann, a spokesperson for the Downers Grove Police.
Bormann said the items are believed to have been stolen from cars near 63rd Street and 71st Street. Bormann said police also are investigating a spate of car prowls in Clarendon Hills.
“This is a problem every year,” Bormann said, adding that the vast majority of items stolen are taken out of unlocked cars. “We just want to remind people to lock their cars.”
Augustine is charged with felony burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle and is currently being held at DuPage county jail on $150,000 bond.
