Aurora man charged with 5 burglaries

A 34-year-old Aurora man has been charged with burglarizing four garages and one vehicle on the west side of the city this year.

J.C. Knotts, of the 400 block of Ingleside Avenue, is charged with three counts of burglary and two counts of residential burglary for stealing various items and selling them at local pawnshops, according to a statement from the Aurora Police Department.

Officers from the Community Policing Unit were reviewing recent transactions at the pawnshops when they saw multiple items matching descriptions of those stolen in the burglaries, police said. The police department also obtained home security videos from some of the burglaries to help with investigations.

The burglaries happened:

• between 5 p.m. Jan. 11 and 6 a.m. Jan. 12 in the 400 block of Central Avenue;
• between 2 p.m. Jan. 12 and 8:30 a.m. Jan. 15 in the 800 block of Hardin Avenue;
• between 9 p.m. Jan. 24 and 6:30 a.m. Jan. 25 in the 200 block of LeGrande Boulevard;
• between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. March 3 in the 100 block of South Western Avenue; and
• about 1:50 p.m. March 15 in the 300 block of Berwick Drive.

Knotts was arrested about 11:35 a.m. Wednesday after a traffic stop near Fordham and Garfield, police said. The Kane County state’s attorney’s office authorized the charges after Knotts was questioned about the burglaries.

On Thursday, Knotts’ bond was set at $75,000, police said. He will be transferred to the Kane County Jail on Friday.