Two months after being released from prison, a man known by residents as the “laundry room burglar” found himself back in police custody Thursday.
When Evanston Police Department officers spotted Jose Clark Jr., he was carrying eight bags of quarters and a hex wrench, authorities said. They arrested the 27-year-old after discovering evidence that linked him to a December 2007 robbery of a coin-operated washing machine.
Physical evidence discovered at the scene implicated that Clark, of the 2000 block of Howard Street, was at the scene of the year-old burglary, according to an EPD statement released Friday afternoon. A follow-up investigation “verified Clark’s involvement,” the statement said.
The charges included burglary and theft from a coin-operated machine, the same allegations that landed Clark in jail last year for two similar incidents in November and December 2007.
Clark was arrested last December for his role in the incidents. Residents of Evanston’s 8th ward, where the burglaries took place, attended several of his court hearings to protest a court system which they said was too lenient on criminals.
In a preliminary hearing on Jan. 23, the 15 residents prompted whispers from many in the courtroom, including Clark’s fiancee, who wondered aloud, “Who are these people?”
In June, he was sentenced to six years in prison for the robberies. But on Nov. 13, after just five months in prison, Clark was released on parole.
Gary Brooks, coordinator of the Brummel Park Neighborhood Watch, said the fact that Clark was arrested while carrying eight bags of quarters and a wrench shows that the parole system is flawed.
“I believe in people having chances,” he said. “But when a person’s paroled back into the same area, it defeats the purpose. It’s just an open door and continue on what they’ve been doing.”
Brooks, who attended the Jan. 23 court hearing, said he wasn’t sure if the residents would take as much interest in Clark’s case this year as they did last year. In a post on her message board, Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) called his upcoming hearing a “field trip.”
Brooks said the community has tried to keep their eye on Clark since his release.
“He was pressing his luck,” he said. “Everybody here was watching for him, so sooner or later he was going to get caught again.”
A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 27 in Skokie.
