Joliet Man Charged With Burglarizing Cars in Metra Lot, Area Homes

A Joliet man was accused of stealing garage door openers and registration info from cars in the New Lenox Metra lot, and then went to burglarize the owners' homes. He was found with items that came from Orland Park and other neighboring towns.

Brysen J. Bradberry, 21, of the 0-99 block of Union Street in Joliet, was charged with residential burglary and vehicle burglary. He is in custody at Will County Jail pending a bond hearing. According to police, Bradberry was on probation for a prior residential burglary. 

Chief Bob Sterba said Bradberry broke into a total of five cars parked in the Metra lot at 300 N. Church St. in New Lenox on two separate days, May 12 and May 31. 

He targeted cars that had visible garage door openers, Sterba said, and would steal those along with valuables and registration information, then went to the homes of the vehicle owners. 

"That's the cautionary tale—keep them out of site," Sterba said of the garage door openers. "It's something we take for granted, but it lends us the insight of their opportunistic attitude."

A New Lenox home was burglarized May 31 after someone entered through the garage, Sterba said, and police investigated that in connection with the Metra lot burglaries. A car and other items were stolen from that home.

Following Bradberry's arrest, police said they recovered thousands of dollars of property in his home that had been reported stolen from other towns, including Channahon, Joliet, Lockport, Orland Park and Romeoville. 

New Lenox detective Lou Alessandrini said police departments in those towns reported similar burglaries in their respective Metra parking lots.

The items included TVs, jewelry, sports memorabilia, cameras and other electronics. Sterba didn't have an estimate of the value of all of the items. Once those items were recovered, New Lenox police contacted other departments to see what was stolen.

Sterba credited the newly installed security cameras in the Metra lot in helping track down Bradberry. He said police reviewed the video and saw a car enter the lot on May 31, then sit parked for an hour before someone got out to commit the burglaries. 

"The cameras gave us a very clear look at the car," Sterba said. 

Following a year of Metra lot burglaries, property damage and a vehicle theft, the . Since the purchase, reported crime in the lot has gone down, except for this isolated incident.  

Police blotter information is provided by the . Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to . We will verify and report the outcome. If you have information about an unsolved crime, call the Investigations Unit at 815-462-6100.

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