House Alarm, Bad Timing Lead to Arrest of Alleged Burglars

Two alleged home burglars were arrested Tuesday thanks in part to an alarm and the timely return of the homeowner, according to police reports.

Michael C. Haynes, 17, of the 5200 block of Deana Lane in Richton Park, and Calvin D. Franklin, 18, of the 5000 block of Meadow Lake Drive in Richton Park, were charged with felony residential burglary and criminal damage to property after the two tried to break in to a residence in the 7800 block of Northwoods Court. Haynes and Franklin were being held without bail in Will County Jail.

officers responded to a residential burglary alarm at around 12:30 p.m. at Northwoods Court, the report stated. The homeowner told officers she was returning home when she saw one of the suspects running across her front yard, said Commander Kevin Keegan. She then saw a large, beige-and-maroon van pull away from her house and followed it for a bit, getting the van's registration information, Keegan added.

Officers investigated the scene and found the front door had been pried open, according to the report. However, nothing was stolen from the house because the alarm scared off the suspects, Keegan said.

A state police dispatch then was put out to other law enforcement agencies, Keegan said. Richton Park Police officers spotted the van around 2:30 p.m. near Amber Lane and Rita Drive in the village and apprehended Haynes and Franklin without incident. Officers found a pry bar in the van, and a Frankfort Police evidence technician was able to make a preliminary determination that it was used at the crime scene. Keegan said the crime lab still needs to make a full confirmation that the bar was used on the home's door.

Haynes and Franklin were returned to Frankfort where detectives interviewed them, Keegan said. Both suspects confessed, he added.