Elgin woman accused of burglarizing 3 homes, 1 building on same Crystal Lake road

A woman accused of burglarizing three homes and a management building along one Crystal Lake road will be detained in the McHenry County Jail pretrial, a judge ruled.

Miriam Aranda, 42, of the zero to 100 block of North McLean Boulevard in Elgin, is charged in four separate cases with three counts of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony; an additional count of burglary; and possessing burglary tools, according to the complaints filed by Crystal Lake police.

If convicted on a Class 1 felony, she could be sentenced to four to 15 years in prison. The charge also is probational.

She is accused of entering residences along Chasefield Lane with the intent to commit theft on Feb. 16, on or about Dec. 25 through Feb. 20, and on Feb. 13, according to court documents.

Police said on Feb. 20, she entered a building owned by Northwest Property Management. On that day, police allege she also had in her possession three plastic latch opening shims, three bent lock-picking plastic style credit cards, two tensioners, one set containing six lock-pick rakes and two individual lock-picking combs suitable for breaking into a building, vehicle or padlock, according to an indictment.

Aranda allegedly came face-to-face with a homeowner inside one of the homes. When police arrested her, she said she was in the neighborhood looking for house cleaning jobs, according to the petition for detention.

At the time of her arrest, Crystal Lake police issued a news release that said On Feb. 13 and Feb. 16 “the Crystal Lake Police Department responded to the 800 block of Chasefield Lane and the 900 block of Golf Course Road for several residential burglaries that occurred during the daytime hours.”

On Feb. 20, Aranada was “seen in the 800 block of Chasefield Lane acting suspiciously near the entrance of a residence by members of the Crystal Lake Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit. She was taken into custody for an arrest warrant originating in Kane County,” according to the release.

In Kane County, she was charged in 2020 with use of a forged credit card or debit card, theft, and unlawful possession of a credit card, according to Kane County court records.

Her attorney declined to comment Tuesday.