Berwyn man charged with 8 counts of burglary in Riverside

A Berwyn man was charged Saturday with eight counts of felony burglary, misdemeanor theft and battery following an incident on Longcommon Road in Riverside.

Joshua Rivera, 26, of the 3000 block of South Harlem Avenue, has an extensive criminal history that includes multiple burglary arrests and convictions for theft and drugs, police said.

Police at 6 a.m Jan. 9 responded to a report of a suspicious subject on the 300 block of Robinson Court. The caller said that there a man wearing a white shirt, white coat and a dark pants was in his yard attempting to burglarize his cars and his neighbors’ cars, police said.

Police were in route when they were advised that the subject fled on a bicycle going toward the 3500 block of South Harlem in Berwyn. Police then saw a subject matching the description and stopped him at 35th Street and Maple Avenue in Berwyn.

Police found a large amount of coins, two large Sharpie markers, cash, pepper spray and a cell phone that was attached to his waistband. Also, police found a small amount of marijuana, a glass pipe for smoking crack cocaine and multiple empty small baggies, which are commonly used for narcotics. Rivera was taken to central lockup for investigation.

Police viewed the homeowner’s video, which showed Rivera in the rear yard attempting to break into his car. Rivera told police: “I was doing so good. I’m almost off parole.”

Rivera was wearing multiple layers of clothing when arrested. His burglary pattern would be to either walk or ride a bike from Berwyn to Riverside, go from driveway to driveway in an attempt to burglarize cars or open garages. When he committed a burglary and thought he was caught on video, he would peel off one layer of clothing and go on to the next house, police said.

Police realized that Rivera matched the description of a man involved in a Nov. 29 incident in the 400 block of Longcommon Road. In that incident, he was burglarizing a car in a driveway and was confronted by the homeowner. He fought with the homeowner, and the wife of the homeowner attempted to take him into custody. He pepper sprayed the Riverside residents during this struggle. He has also been charged in that case, police said.

“Mr. Rivera is believed to be responsible for as many as 15 car burglaries in Riverside,” Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a statement. “While he has only been charged with eight thus far, he will likely be indicted on other charges once all our evidence is collected. He is also responsible for the violent attack on two Riverside residents on the 400 block of Longcommon on November 29, 2020. In that attack, he pepper sprayed the owners as they tried to protect their property. Detectives and patrol worked as a team on this case and were able to solve multiple burglaries and one violent attack.

“When we attempted to notify the Illinois Department of Corrections to revoke his parole status, they refused to do so. Even though Mr. Rivera is being charged with eight counts of burglary theft and battery, they will not revoke his current parole which is also for burglary. Riverside Police have filed an objection to this determination by the Department of Corrections but as of today, they still refuse to revoke his parole status.”