A 45-year-old man has been charged following a month-long investigation into the theft of more than $1 million worth of jewelry, handbags, watches, and other high-end items from a Gold Coast residence. Chicago police say Quentin Jones was identified by Area Three detectives as one of several offenders who broke into a home on East Scott Street and made off with the safe containing the stolen goods.
According to the Chicago Police Department, 18th District officers responded to the 0-100 block of East Scott Street on July 18 and met with a 23-year-old burglary victim. Responding officers reviewed video evidence showing multiple offenders gaining entry to the property, and police say the group had cased the residence for weeks before carrying out the break-in. The offenders took a safe containing additional belongings along with jewelry, handbags, watches, and other high-end items, per the department’s account.
Area Three detectives, who hold investigative jurisdiction over major property thefts across the 18th District and neighboring central and north-central Chicago districts, according to the Chicago Police Department, recovered video of the offenders and the vehicles they were driving during the course of the investigation. That footage reportedly helped detectives identify Jones as one of the burglary offenders and led to his arrest in Chicago on August 19.
Charges Include Theft, Burglary, and Buying the Tools for the Job
Jones was charged with one felony count of theft/unauthorized control of property valued at greater than $1 million and one felony count of residential burglary, the department reported. Investigators also say Jones purchased tools believed to have been used in the burglary. Under 720 ILCS 5/19-2, possessing or purchasing tools intended to facilitate an unauthorized entry or theft is itself a separate Class 4 felony, punishable by one to three years in prison, according to the Law Offices of Peter W. Lewis — a charge that can apply even when the buyer isn’t the one who physically broke in…