Group charged in connection with burglary of watches at Gold Coast Bentley store

Damian Duitlow / photo from Chicago Police

Four people charged with stealing over $400,000 in watches at the Gold Coast Bentley dealership over the weekend were ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail Thursday.

Anna Straus, 35,–one of two women who allegedly acted as lookouts in Saturday’s burglary–was described as being “very pregnant” and was not in court.

Straus’ co-defendants–Glowacka Xagniezska, 36, of the 3400 block of North Rutherford; Damian Duitlow, 41, of the 4200 block of West Wrightwood; and Ian Kowolski, 50–appeared before Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. Thursday.

Shortly after noon on Saturday, all four walked into the Bentley dealership, in the 800 block of North Rush, and stood in front of a glass display in a jewelry store located inside, according to authorities.

Kowolski reached inside and grabbed seven watches worth $408,400 before the four escaped in a small van, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Erin Antonietti said.

The heist was captured on surveillances cameras and Kowolski’s fingerprints were found on the glass display case, Antonietti said.

The two men were arrested together while driving in a BMW in the 6800 block of Addison, according to a police report. Officers tracked the two women down after finding an envelope with Straus’ address on it. Once at the home, they found the women, who changed their hairstyles after the crime, authorities said.

Xagniezska allegedly hid behind her children on a sofa when the officers came to arrest her. Both women allegedly made admissions when shown a still of a video with their images.

The four have been charged with burglary and theft charges. All have criminal records in multiple states.

Xagniezska is a seamstress and Kowolski, of an unknown address is a construction worker, their defense attorneys said.

During the investigation, 31-year-old Andrzej Debinski of the 3600 block of North Sayre was also arrested and charged with possessing a fraudulent identification card, police said.

Panarese Jr. placed Debinski on electronic monitoring Thursday.

Anna Straus / photo from Chicago Police

Glowacka Xagniezska / photo from Chicago Police

Andrzej Debinski / photo from Chicago

Ian Kowolski / photo from Chicago Police

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