4 Teens Burglarize Under-Construction Wilmette Home, Call Lyft

WILMETTE, IL — A group of four Chicago teens who burglarized an under-construction home and fled the scene after hailing a ride using an app were arrested Thursday night in Wilmette, police said. The three boys and one girl face charges of burglary, attempted residential burglary and burglary to a motor vehicle in juvenile court after stealing various electronics and a key from the home in the 700 block of 8th Street.

Wilmette police were called to the scene around 7:15 p.m. after receiving a report of some suspicious people in the area, according to a statement from police. Before officers arrived, a witness confronted the group on the front porch of a house undergoing construction on the narrow, brick-paved street.

Another witness reported seeing the teens run away from the home and into a silver Cadillac with an emblem of a ride-hailing service, according to police.

Officers pulled over a matching vehicle a short distance from the scene and confirmed the youth in the car were the same people police had been called about. Police determined they had burglarized both the home and a construction vehicle that had been parked on the site before calling a ride-hailing driver. Police took all four into custody and released the driver without any citations.

The quartet already had an "extensive combined criminal history" prior to the arrest, according to Cmdr. Michael McGarry. Two of the juvenile arrestees were turned over to their parents, while the other two were taken to the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center.