GURNEE, IL - October 7, 2009 - A local 19 year old man turned himself in at the Gurnee Police Department on Monday afternoon at approximately 4:00 PM after learning there was a warrant for his arrest. Gurnee detectives had obtained an arrest warrant for Joseph D. Diesi for a theft reported to police in the 4300 block of Birch Drive on Sunday afternoon at approximately 1:05 PM.
The victim of the theft reported that Diesi knocked on her front door Sunday afternoon and asked if the victim’s son still had a sweatshirt that belonged to Diesi. The victim said they didn’t have the sweatshirt and Diesi left. The victim then reported that she watched from her second story window as Diesi walked northbound. She noticed he had several items in his hands. A chain saw and a weed whacker were among the items. Diesi is known to the victim. A search of the area near the home was conducted and the weed whacker and the chain saw were found on the ground near the railroad tracks east of the victim’s home along with a black back pack with the name “Joseph” on it.
A detective interviewed Diesi, 19, of Gurnee, after he had turned himself in. Diesi admitted to having a drug addiction. The detective obtained statements regarding two other residential burglaries that occurred in Gurnee. The first burglary was reported on October 1, 2009 in the 300 block of Gould Street at 3:20 PM. The victim reported that on September 30, Diesi had stopped by their house to talk to the victim’s son. Diesi was allegedly attempting to sell an expensive skateboard for $30.00. The offer was declined and Diesi left. Later that night around 7:00 PM, another of the victim’s sons saw their cat outside and found that a basement window screen had been forced open. Some cash was missing and no one in the house had taken it.
The second burglary was reported on October 4, 2009 at 11:47 AM in the 800 block of Magnolia Avenue. The victim stated that on October 3, at approximately 9:00 PM they had noticed several items missing from the home. Items missing included electronics (DVD player, video game console, video games and DVD’s, laptop PC). They found a window well where the window had been forced open. One of the DVD boxes was located under the air conditioning condenser outside the window. Joseph Diesi had been at the home the week before this incident and was considered a suspect.
On Tuesday afternoon, October 6, 2009, Diesi was charged with felony Theft, and two counts of Residential Burglary, Class 1 felonies. Diesi was taken to a bond hearing in Waukegan where he was remanded to the Lake County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
- END -