Following a spate of home invasions where false identities were used to throw the victims off guard, Chicago police warned residents Monday to be wary of unknown people knocking on their doors.
“If anyone’s at your door and you don’t know who they are, don’t answer it,” said Cmdr. Thomas Byrne of the Belmont Area detective bureau.
At a news conference Monday, police announced charges against a man and woman who allegedly forced their way into the Northwest Side home of an 84-year-old woman on Nov. 17.
Helen Ely and Michael Miller, both 25, pretended to be building management personnel to gain entry in an apartment in the 4800 block of North Linder Avenue, police said. Once in, they knocked the victim to the floor, ransacked her apartment and stole items, said Cmdr. Dean Andrews of the Grand Central Area detective bureau.
Miller was in court on Sunday, charged with one count of home invasion and one count of aggravated battery, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. He was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail. Simonton said Ely will likely make an appearance Tuesday in Bond Court.
Detectives are investigating whether Miller and Ely were involved in two similar Northwest Side break-ins against senior citizens on Nov. 16 and 17.
