Man charged in series of car burglaries, gun and credit card thefts in Joliet: police

JOLIET, Ill. - A man has been charged after allegedly breaking into multiple cars and stealing credit cards and guns, according to the Joliet Police Department.

What we know:

On Feb. 7, officers responded to reports of car burglaries in the 900 block of North Hickory Street. In one incident, a male suspect entered an unlocked Kia Optima parked in an alley and stole a bag. Video footage in the area confirmed the suspect took the bag and walked north through the alley, around 7:38 p.m.

Officers also responded to another burglary, this time of a Chevrolet Malibu that had been left unlocked in the same area. The owner only discovered the theft when they received a fraud notification from their bank. The suspect had stolen the victim's credit cards. 

Police later identified Keenan Curl, 28, as the suspect. Police found him earlier with multiple stolen credit cards, but since he had not yet been connected to the previous burglaries, Curl was released. 

After the connection was made, police found Curl near Bridge Street and North Broadway shortly after 8 p.m. when he was arrested, charged with burglary and possessing stolen property and released but told to come back to appear in court. 

Keenan Curl (28, Homeless)

A deeper investigation revealed that Curl was linked to at least three other car burglaries, including one on Jan. 8 of a Kia 4 in the 600 block of Virginia Street, in which a wallet was stolen, and a credit card was used; one on Feb. 1 of an unlocked Chrysler Pacifica in the 800 block of North Hickory Street in which a gun was taken; and another on Feb. 10 of an unlocked Honda Civic in the 800 block of North Hickory street in which a gun was stolen.

On Wednesday, Curl was once again arrested in the 300 block of North Bluff Street. He admitted to the burglaries and said he sold the stolen guns.

Curl has been charged with three counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, unlawful use of a credit card, two counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, two counts of possession of a stolen firearm, two counts of unlawful sale of a firearm, and two counts of a violation of his pre-trial release.

Officials determined Curl was on parole at the time of the offenses and a warrant was issued. 

What you can do:

Police are reminding the public to always lock their cars and remove any valuables, even for a short period of time.