By Vicky Wedig
Staff writer
A warrant was issued Sept. 26 for the arrest of an Illinois man suspected of breaking into Pino’s Last Call and McCullough’s Prescriptions and Gifts in Walworth in April.
Anthony L. Babic, 53, of Decatur, Ill., was charged Sept. 1 in Walworth County Circuit Court with two counts each of burglary of a building or dwelling and criminal damage to property, both as a party to a crime.
Babic failed to appear in court for a hearing in the case Sept. 22, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to the criminal complaint, the owner of Pino’s reported the business burglarized April 28. Carmelo Alfano reported the lock on the business was “loose,” vide games were broken, the office was breached, the security camera was ripped from the wall and the door to the office was kicked in, according to the complaint. Alfano said $1,000 was missing from a file cabinet, a safe had been cut and phone and cable lines to the building had been cut.
A burglary occurred the same day at McCullough’s. Phone lines and the security alarm system at the business were ripped apart and the power and feeder lines to the security system cut, according to the complaint.
On June 6, a detective in Macon County, Ill., arrested Babic and Daniel L. Johnson, 46, of Jefferson, who admitted burglarizing a pharmacy and pizza place in Walworth, according to the complaint.
Illinois police searched Babic’s house and found multiple pill bottles that matched account numbers for McCullough’s and bore McCullough’s labels, according to the complaint.
Johnson told police Babic did most of the work in the burglaries and Johnson was the “lookout guy,” according to the complaint. Johnson said Babic used a “lock trick” by turning and unscrewing the lockset on the door to enter Pino’s and used a hammer and chisel to enter McCullough’s, according to the complaint.
Johnson is charged with the same offenses as Babic. He failed to appear in court for a hearing in the case Sept. 29, and a warrant was issued for his arrest Oct. 3.
