One of two men facing charges in a violent home invasion robbery of a Chicago area collector has been captured after fleeing to Mexico.
An investigation by the Cook County Sheriff’s Central Warrant Unit, the Wheeling Police Department and the FBI led to apprehension of 28-year-old Steve Chung in Guadalajara.
Another man, Kristopher Muzzall, remains in jail and facing charges while a third man, Martrell Robinson of Chicago, pleaded guilty and began serving a nine-year prison sentence last year.
The Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney says Chung knew about the victim’s collection and after the men broke into the home in August 2014, Robinson hit the man in the head with a gun, kicked him, pulled a pillowcase over his head and tied his hands together. The men became more violent once safes holding the cards became difficult to open.
After several failed attempts, they were able to get the safe open, stealing more than 400 cards worth over $150,000.
The men took the homeowner’s driver’s license, passports and family social security numbers and fled in collector’s vehicle. They left him tied up in a bathtub with water running. Before leaving, investigators say they threatened to kill the collector and his family if he told anyone.
Several store owners in Indiana and Ohio identified Chung as the man who was peddling the stolen goods. Prosecutors say some cards also appeared on eBay within days of the theft.
Sheriff Thomas J. Dart says an arrest warrant was issued in June 2015 for Chung, whose last known address was in Des Plaines, after he “stopped coming to court.” Chung was originally arrested in November of 2014 with bail listed at $100,000.
Working with Wheeling Police, the Sheriff’s Central Warrant Unit learned last month that Chung was in Mexico. He had been living there since June 2015, teaching English online. The Central Warrant Unit contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crime Task Force for assistance in locating him.
On Wednesday, Mexican Immigration officials and the FBI located Chung in Guadalajara and arrested him. Mexican immigration officials escorted Chung on his flight to Chicago Thursday. Central Warrant Unit officers and FBI agents took Chung into custody after he landed at Midway Airport.
Chung appeared in court Friday and was jailed without bond.
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