Burglars stole gold bars, coins, and jewelry worth $2.5 million from a Lincoln Park home in November and then returned to try to burglarize the home again this spring, only to give up when they discovered the homeowner was inside, prosecutors said.

Now, one of the men charged in the case has been ordered detained, while another is wanted after he was released pending trial and failed to appear in court.

According to prosecutors, a 40-year-old woman returned to her home in the 2700 block of North Lakewood Avenue at about 1:58 p.m. on November 17 and found her back door had been forced open.

Inside, she discovered that burglars had stolen property worth $2,523,009.33 — mostly by taking a safe that contained gold bars, gold coins, watches, and jewelry, according to court records.

Corey Edwards (Chicago Police Department)

Security footage allegedly showed a white vehicle pulling into the alley behind the home before the break-in. Prosecutors said two people entered the yard and looked through the home’s windows before prying open the back door. After they forced their way inside, a third burglar entered the residence.

Prosecutors said 27-year-old Corey Edwards entered the home carrying a white bag and two Chicago police officers recognized him from surveillance footage.

Four months later, on March 16, Edwards and two accomplices returned to the same home for round two, prosecutors claim.

At about 4:50 a.m., the men threw their body weight against the back door to try to force it open, prosecutors said. They fled when the homeowner yelled, “Hello! Hello!” from inside the residence. That attempted burglary was also captured on surveillance video, which allegedly showed a red Chrysler Pacifica with Wisconsin license plates near the home.

Chicago police stopped the Pacifica on the Kennedy Expressway two days later and found Edwards and 32-year-old Marcel Smith inside, according to prosecutors. Officers also recovered a red glove from the van, which prosecutors said Smith was seen wearing in surveillance footage from the attempted burglary.

Judge John Hock recently ordered Edwards detained pending trial, noting that he previously served time for armed robbery. He is charged with burglary and attempted burglary.

Police arrested Smith after the traffic stop and charged him in connection with the March burglary attempt. But prosecutors did not seek his detention, and Judge Antara Rivera released him pending trial. Court records show Smith failed to appear for a court hearing on April 29, and a warrant has now been issued for his arrest.

Smith (CPD)

Edwards’ robbery conviction stems from a violent mugging in the Loop in December 2018.

The victim was entering his car in the garage at 801 South Financial Place when the group pushed him to the ground and began kicking him. The robbers then tased the victim on his lower back and demanded his property, police said.

Responding officers recognized the robbery offenders’ descriptions from an earlier call about a group of men wiggling doorknobs in a nearby apartment building. Armed with the descriptions, police located the robbery suspects near the Walgreens at 501 West Roosevelt Road. A Taser was recovered during the arrests. Edwards and three others pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery in the case.

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