A north suburban man wanted on a warrant ran out of a hospital wearing only a patient gown last week, but was soon captured after he stole a pair of pants from a nearby vehicle.
Matthew D. Brechel, 36, of Round Lake Beach had been taken to Condell Hospital in Libertyville with chest pains, security guards told Libertyville police.
Officers were called about 5:40 p.m. when he left the facility wearing only a hospital gown, police said. A records check then showed he was wanted on a Lake County warrant for failing to appear in court on a retail theft charge, police said.
A witness later called police to say they saw a man in a hospital gown enter a garage in the 100 block of Coolidge Avenue after entering a vehicle in the 100 block of Austin Avenue and taking a sweater and pants, police said.
Brechel was found a short time later at a Shell gas station on South Milwaukee Avenue, where he was arrested without incident, police said.
He was taken to the Lake County Jail, and later released on his own recognizance.
