Riverside Suspect Removes Clothes To Avoid Detection: Cops

La Grange IL

11 January, 2021

12:04 PM

Description

RIVERSIDE, IL — A man was arrested in Riverside over the weekend in connection with eight burglaries and likely more, police said. In one of the burglaries, he attacked a homeowner who confronted him, according to reports. Police also said the man had an unusual method to avoid detection — peeling off layers of clothes. At 6 a.m. Saturday, a resident called police to say a man was in his yard trying to break into his and his neighbor's cars in the 300 block of Robinson Court, according to a Riverside police news release. On the way there, officers were told the suspect was heading toward Berwyn on his bicycle. The suspect was identified as Joshua Rivera, 26, of Berwyn, who faces eight counts of felony burglary, one count of misdemeanor theft and battery for an incident on Longcommon Road, police said. When officers caught Rivera, they found on him a large amount of coins, two large markers, cash, pepper spray and a cellphone that was attached to his waistband, according to the news release. Police also said he had a small amount of marijuana, a glass pipe for smoking crack cocaine and a number of empty small baggies that are commonly used for narcotics. The officers viewed the homeowner's video, which showed Rivera in the back yard trying to break into a car, police said. On his way to central lockup, Rivera told officers, "I was doing so good. I'm almost off parole," the release said. His arrest record included burglary, theft and drugs, police said. Police noted that Rivera was wearing multiple layers of clothing. It was determined through an investigation that when he committed burglary and thought he was caught on video, he would peel off a layer of clothing and go on to the next home for a burglary, police said. Police said they connected Rivera to a number of burglaries. One of them was when Rivera pepper-sprayed a bat-wielding homeowner and fought with the homeowner's wife while he was committing a burglary, police said. "Mr. Rivera is believed to be responsible for as many as 15 car burglaries in Riverside," Police Chief Tom Weitzel said in the news release. "While he has only been charged with eight so far, he will likely be indicted on other charges once all our evidence is completed." During Rivera's burglary spree, Riverside police said they assigned officers to specific residential patrols in the victimized area. That paid off, police said, when officers were able to respond within minutes to the latest burglary.