A three-time convicted burglar is facing new burglary charges after a South Side homeowner allegedly caught him breaking into a garage and shot him in the leg.
Officers responding to a report of a “burglary in progress” around 2:45 a.m. on March 7 found 59-year-old Jose Pantoja lying in an alley behind the 5100 block of South Loomis Boulevard with a gunshot wound to his right leg.
A 40-year-old man who lives nearby told officers he heard someone breaking into his garage and that Pantoja was wearing a mask and putting a socket wrench in a backpack. When Pantoja allegedly tried to flee, the homeowner, a valid concealed carry permit holder, shot him in the leg, according to police and prosecutors.
Police recovered Pantoja’s backpack, which contained a Dremel tool and a drill that the homeowner identified as his own, along with what a police report described as a “crowbar-like object” that he allegedly used to force entry into the garage.
Pantoja was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center for treatment. He is suspected of burglary and possession of burglary tools. Prosecutors have not requested his arrest, and he will remain free pending trial.
Court records show he has been convicted of burglary three times in Cook County.
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