A Sleepy Hollow inventor used a homemade electronic device to disable cash registers, surveillance cameras, automated teller and lottery machines at three northwest suburban groceries, police said Tuesday.
David Pacholok, 47, of the 1800 block of Higgins Road was charged Monday with criminal damage to property, Carpentersville police said. He was released on a signature bond Tuesday pending a May 6 court appearance, authorities said.
Pacholok is accused of building built a device that emitted microwave pulses, fitting the machine into a plastic toolbox and activating it on April 16 inside Dominick’s Finer Foods stores at 535 S. Dundee Ave., East Dundee; 2411 Randall Rd., Carpentersville; and 101 N. Randall Rd., Lake in the Hills, authorities said.
The device temporarily disabled several cash registers, lottery machines, security cameras and ATMs inside the stores, said Carpentersville Police Lt. Anthony DePippo.
Pacholok told authorities he had not planned to use the device for theft but wanted to see how well it worked, DePippo said.
Some of the machines sustained permanent damage. Repair bills so far have totaled more than $3,100, police said. Other machines resumed operating once Pacholok left the stores.
Police said they identified Pacholok using store security tapes and witness descriptions.
Authorities confiscated the device after serving a search warrant on Monday. Pacholok, a former Rutland Dundee Township firefighter, operates Creative Electronics Consultants out of his home.
According to the company’s Web site, the firm designs lighting and communications systems and been awarded more than 20 patents. According to the site, those include one in 1996 for a “vehicle disabling device and method” and a 1998 patent for a “mechanical tire deflating device.”
Lake in the Hills Police Chief James Wales said security videotapes showed Pacholok behaving calmly as store personnel scrambled to figure out what was disabling their equipment.
“He appeared to be looking for a reaction” from the computers and store personnel, said Wales.
