5 teen boys charged with breaking into Des Plaines rental car lot

Five teenage boys have been charged with burglarizing a rental car lot last week in northwest suburban Des Plaines.

Officers on patrol about 11 p.m. Friday spotted two juveniles walking around inside the fenced-in lot of a Hertz/Advantage rental lot at 2170 Mannheim Rd., according to Des Plaines police. They tried to run away, but were soon caught, along with a third teenager.

Two other teens ran from the area, but officers set up a perimeter with the help of Rosemont police and K-9 units, and eventually took them into custody a few blocks away, police said. Investigators recovered two 9 mm handguns from the group.

A 15-year-old, 16-year-old and three 17-year-old boys were charged in juvenile court with burglary, vehicle theft and unlawful use of a weapon.

Officers had been conducting extra watches in the area since 13 vehicles were stolen in a May 9 burglary at the Hertz lot, police said. Ten of those vehicles have since been accounted for, all of them heavily damaged.

One of the stolen vehicles was used in a homicide in Chicago, police said. Another was involved in a police chase that ended in a crash in another suburb. One of the recovered vehicles had bullet holes in it, while another was found with shell casings inside.

Two of the teens arrested Friday were also charged in connection with the May 9 incident, police said. Stolen vehicles from other towns were used to drive the suspects to the Des Plaines facility in both cases.