RICH TOWNSHIP, Ill. — A man accused of burglarizing a home in Rich Township has been taken into custody thanks to DNA evidence that was allegedly recovered from a bottle of wine at the home.
According to officials from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, 35-year-old Jeremiah Phillips has been charged with residential burglary, burglary, and criminal damage to property.
The charges stem from an alleged break-in at a home in the 4000 block of Blackstone Avenue, in unincorporated Rich Township, on Sept. 6, 2023.
Authorities say Phillips allegedly entered the home and ransacked it. He then allegedly returned a few days later through a sliding door and damaged security system equipment.
Deputies later recovered the home’s security camera footage, which allegedly caught Phillips entering a detached garage and drinking from a bottle of wine that was in the garage fridge. Authorities say he then put the bottle back but spotted the cameras and used spray paint in the garage to paint over the cameras.
The bottle was later recovered and the Sheriff’s Police Criminalistics Unit then submitted DNA samples from it to the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Laboratory for analysis.
Detectives finally got an update on the case in February when a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) report showed an association between the DNA on the bottle and Jeremiah Phillips.
Authorities then took Phillips into custody on Wednesday and charges against him were approved on Thursday.
On Friday, Phillips appeared in court where a judge ordered him to be released from custody, pending trial.