A former Lake Forest police officer charged in residential and business burglaries in the community he patrolled is free after posting 10 percent of his $500,000 bond, officials said Monday.
Robert J. Coyle, 34, a 12-year veteran of the department, appeared before Lake County Circuit Judge Christopher Starck, who ordered him to turn in his passport to the probation department.
Assistant State’s Atty. Patricia Fix told Starck that she spoke with the prosecutor in Las Vegas, where Coyle faces a charge of possessing stolen property. The attorney said Nevada authorities will issue a warrant if Coyle fails to appear in court.
The attorney also told Fix that Coyle would not be held there because of his arrest here, allowing Lake County officials to avoid extradition. Coyle posted his bail Friday, Fix said.
Coyle, who resigned in June, was charged in a 25-count indictment with burglary, theft and official misconduct, and was accused of taking property that belonged to two Lake Forest businesses and three homes between the summers of 1999 and 2000.
Authorities said they became suspicious because Coyle patrolled the areas where the thefts had occurred. Authorities said Coyle had an account with an Internet auction site where some of the property allegedly had been sold.
Coyle is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13.