Crystal Lake man linked to crime spree gets 5 years after pleading guilty to burglary, theft, mob action

A Crystal Lake man linked to multiple crimes was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty on Tuesday to burglarizing a home in Lakewood and stealing items from a vehicle in Crystal Lake in 2023 and mob action in 2021 in Cary.

Victor Diaz, 22, of Crystal Lake, pleaded guilty to theft of between $10,000 and $100,000 and residential burglary, Class 2 felonies, and mob action use of force involving two or more people, records in the McHenry County court show.

In exchange for his guilty plea to charges in three criminal cases, charges filed among nine others during 2023 including theft, burglary criminal trespass to vehicles, criminal trespass to land and possession of burglary tools were dismissed, records show.

He will receive credit for 287 days spent in the county jail and is required to serve half of his prison sentence. He will be on mandatory supervised release for one year.

When arrested in 2023 he was charged along with Lucazie S. Sacco, of Algonquin in at least seven of the cases. Sacco’s case is still pending and he is due in court on Feb. 6.

His attorney Brian Stevens said Diaz’s sentence was “the result of many months of discussion” with prosecutors and Judge Mark Gerhardt.

Stevens noted Diaz’s young age, the fact that a majority of the cases were property related “and that Victor accepted responsibility for his actions” as mitigating factors.

“Victor wanted to resolve these cases ... so he can move forward and ultimately out of the criminal justice system,” Stevens said.

The mob action charge stems from 2021 when Diaz was accused of striking a male victim in the face, with at least five others, in an altercation. The victim “sustained permanent disfigurement during the attack when someone bit, tore, sliced or cut off a large portion of his right ear,” according to the criminal complaint.

Diaz also has a remaining domestic violence case he’s scheduled back in court for on Thursday, records show.