Police helicopter helps foil store burglary
By KIM JANSSEN Staff Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com September 24, 2012 1:33AM
Updated: September 24, 2012 1:34AM
Five burglars likely thought they couldn’t be seen when they tried to break in through the roof of a South Side clothing store.
But officers detailed to a Chicago Police helicopter spotted the alleged crooks on the rooftop, prosecutors say.
Shawn Mondie, 18, Matthew Gibson, 19, Dealante Holt, 19, William Curry, 20, and Alton Jackson, 24, were all arrested inside JBee’s casual sportswear at 1301 East 87th shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday.
They were spotted by the helicopter officers on the roof of the strip mall in Avalon Park using a bolt cutter, a sledge hammer and a prybar to break in and lower themselves down into the store, according to a police report. All five have either juvenile or adult records, prosecutors said as the five appeared before Judge Maria Kuriakos-Ciesel on burglary charges Sunday.
The judge set Mondie, Gibson and Holt’s bail at $80,000. Curry’s bail was set at $60,000 and Jackson’s at $100,000.
