A 29-year-old man is accused of using his car as a battering ram to break into a grocery store on Aurora’s Near West Side.
Marcos Salas, 29, of the 400 block of North Union Street, Aurora, is charged with burglary and criminal damage to property, both felonies. He was also cited for driving on a suspended license, driving with expired registration and operating an uninsured vehicle, according to Kane County records.
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At about 5:40 a.m. Monday, police responded to an alarm at a grocery store on the 1200 block of North Lake Street, spokesman Dan Ferrelli said in an email.
Police found signs of forced entry to some rear doors, Ferrelli said. When the officers ran through the damaged doors to see if anyone was still outside, they saw a car driving away at a high rate of speed with its trunk open, Ferrelli said.
Police took Salas into custody without incident near Grove Street and Beach Street, Ferrelli said.
Inside his car, a 2002 Ford Taurus, were several cases of Gatorade and some empty plastic tote bins, Ferrelli said. From the condition of the car, it appeared Salas had used it as a battering ram to make entry to the store, Ferrelli said. The total loss including damage to the store is about $2,700, Ferrelli said.
Salas had also been wanted on a warrant for driving on a suspended license. He is in custody at the Kane County jail, where his total bail for all charges has been set at $35,000, according to the jail’s online booking records.
In 2002, Salas pleaded guilty to retail theft in Kane County and was sentenced to two months of supervision with reporting back to court, records show.
In 2010 in Kane County, he pleaded guilty to domestic battery causing bodily harm and was sentenced to 12 months supervision with reporting back to court and domestic violence counseling.
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