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RIVERSIDE - Riverside police Wednesday arrested a man wanted in Ohio more than two weeks after he reportedly stole license plates from a neighbor’s car and affixed them to his vehicle.
Police charged Juan O’Campo, 40 with misdemeanor theft after spotting him at about 4:48 p.m. walking behind a house on the zero to 100 block of East Burlington Street.
O’Campo told police he had stolen the license plates because the victim’s car is similar to his and he did not want to get arrested when he returned to Ohio. He knew he had several outstanding warrants in Ohio and did not want to be stopped.
On Feb. 20 at about 9:36 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting a theft in progress in the zero to 100 block of East Burlington Street. The 911 caller said she looked out her window and a man was stealing the license plates from her car and putting them on his, police said. He fled before police arrived.
The victim identified the man as She told police that the man as O’Campo. She said he had been staying at the address on East Burlington Street on and off over the last few months.
O’Campo was wanted on extraditable warrants out of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio for stalking in violation of an order of protection. The warrants stem from an incident in which O’Campo was arrested in North Olmsted, Ohio, which is in Cuyahoga County, police said.
He failed to show up in court after his arrest. Riverside Police contacted the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office and they advised they were refusing to extradite O’Campo back to Ohio, even though the warrants were valid, due to COVID-19 restrictions. O’Campo was arrested and released on bond.
“It’s dangerous that Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio would not extradite Mr. O’Campo, Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said in a statement. “These were valid warrants that were extraditable, meaning he could be extradited from Illinois to Ohio per a judge’s order, but the Sheriff’s Office refused to do so due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Even with the pandemic, police agencies must still do basic operations, and they should have picked up Juan O’Campo. For my part, I have contacted the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and advised them of the new arrest and asked them to revoke the bond that he’s currently held on for his Illinois cases.”
O’Campo has a lengthy criminal history in Illinois including theft and harassment by electronic communications, obstructing identification and burglary. He’s also been arrested several times in Ohio, according to police.