A 19-year-old man has been charged in a rash of burglaries at multiple businesses in Chicago, including several on the same block in the Beverly neighborhood.
Charles Kelly is charged with seven counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary, and one count of theft.
Police said he was part of a group that broke into at least eight businesses between Sept. 30 and Oct. 27, including three businesses on 95th Street in Beverly in less than 30 minutes on Oct. 15.
As Kelly made his first appearance in court on Friday, some of those businesses were still picking up the pieces, after they were left with broken windows, stolen cash, and thousands of dollars in damage.
"It's hurtful. It's very hurtful, because you can just go get a job. It's like, why do you want to take from people?" said Talicia Patterson, owner of Jayde Beauty Supply on 95th Street in Beverly.
Patterson said four our five masked burglars pulled up in what police said was a stolen red SUV outside of several businesses on her block, and used a sledgehammer to break in.
Surveillance video shows the crew first breaking through the glass door at The Carter Grooming Lounge next door to Jayde Beauty Supply. One burglar looks for a cash register inside before making their way to the back of the shop.
"One was looking out and the other three were basically hitting us three at the same. So they used the tool, broke the glass, passed it to the next person," Patterson said.
The same crew later broke the front door of Jayde Beauty Supply before yanking out Patterson's cash register and destroying dozens of products before taking off to neighboring Essential Creations embroidery shop.
"It's very frustrating, because the first few years of your business is the hardest," Patterson said.
Essential Creations owner Sandtricia Strickland said the burglars didn't steal anything after breaking into her shop. Since the burglary, the shop has posted a sign on its window stating no cash is kept on the premises.
"To come in and see you've been violated, glass broken, you're not knowing about what's going on," Strickland said.
Strickland has been on 95th Street for 13 years, and said this has never happened before. The damage cost her $700, but she said the break-in won't scare her into closing her doors.
"It put a little fear in us, but we're going to combat it, we're going to be okay," she said.
At another location, prosecutors said the crew stole up to $8,000 in cash, plus tobacco and marijuana products.
Kelly was arrested on Wednesday after detectives identified him as one of the burglars in the group responsible for the break-ins.
Prosecutors said he admitted to his involvement in three burglaries. In court, prose
At his detention hearing, a judge said the state's Pretrial Fairness Act prevented him from ordering Kelly to be held in jail while he awaits trial.
Business owners said there has been an overnight police presence on 95th Street in Beverly since the burglaries on Oct. 15, and they hope police stick around.
