Chicago man arrested as suspect in Joliet burglary spree

A Chicago man has been arrested on allegations that he was part of a November crime spree in Joliet that included break-ins at a Plainfield Road gas station and downtown pizzeria.

Alejandro Lopez, 22, is being held in the Cook County jail on three counts of burglary, three counts of criminal damage to property and possession of a stolen vehicle, Joliet police announced Wednesday.

The arrest of Lopez involved an investigation that included police from two Chicago-area suburbs, where other crimes occurred.

In Joliet, Lopez is accused in three incidents that occurred during the early-morning hours of Nov. 13.

The last break-in apparently was at the BP station at 1415 Plainfield Road, where an employee arriving to open the store about 4:30 a.m. interrupted a burglary in progress, according to a news release from the Joliet Police Department.

Four male suspects unsuccessfully tried to steal an ATM but got away with two cash registers holding more than $1,000, police said.

They fled the scene in a vehicle later identified as an Infiniti Q50 and believed to be stolen from a Clarendon Hills car dealership.

A few hours later, an employee arriving to open Niko’s Pizzeria, located downtown at 20 Ohio St., and discovered a shattered front window and two cash registers missing.

Those case registers also contained more than $1,000, police said.

A computer also was missing from the pizzeria.

“It was determined during the investigation that multiple suspects committed the burglary and fled in an Infiniti Q50 vehicle,” police said in the release.

The pizzeria burglary was reported at 8:44 a.m.

At 9:05 a.m., police got a report of a car burglary at the Scott Street parking deck downtown, police said.

An Infiniti Q50 was identified by surveillance video as a vehicle used by the burglars, who drove through stop arms at the entrance and exit of the parking deck, police said.

The theft also was on video.

Male suspects broke into a locked BMW by breaking a rear window. A backpack and loose change were stolen, police said.

The parking deck burglary likely was the first incident, followed by the Niko’s Pizzeria burglary and then the BP break-in, police said.

The Infinity Q50 used in the crimes is believed to be the same one reported stolen by a Clarendon Hills car dealership.

Clarendon Hills police reported the stolen Infinity Q50 was found at a garage in the 2600 block of 22nd Street in Chicago.

Joliet detectives working with other law enforcement agencies in the Chicago area identified Lopez as a suspect in the break-ins, according to the release.

He had been arrested Nov. 13, the same day as the Joliet crime spree, by Prospect Heights police for unrelated burglaries, police said.

Joliet detectives on Dec. 10 got a warrant for the Joliet incidents.

“The warrant was served to Lopez at the Cook County Department of Corrections, where he is currently incarcerated on other charges,” according to the release. “The Joliet Police Department wishes to thank our law enforcement partners, specifically the Clarendon Hills Police Department and the Prospect Heights Police Department.”