Chicago Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Evanston Burglary

A 45-year-old Chicago man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a burglary that took place in southwest Evanston last December, police say.

Kelly Skamra, of the 500 block of West 14th Place, pled guilty to residential burglary in Cook County Circuit in Skokie on Tuesday, April 23. Police say a 37-year-old woman was at her home in the 500 block of Grey Avenue around 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, when Skamra rang the front door bell. When no one answered, he forced his way in through the side door, according to police. 

Earlier: Police Charge Burglary Suspect Out On Parole

The woman’s son and daughter, both under the age of 18, were home at the time, but ran away once they realized someone was in the house, police said. The woman remained inside and called 9-11 to tell police that she had seen a man leave her house carrying a laptop computer. With the help of her son outside, she told the dispatcher what the burglar looked like and where she had seen him run.

Police stopped Skamra in the 300 block of Dodge Avenue, based on the woman’s description, where they arrested him and retrieved her laptop. 

During his court apperance Tuesday, Skamra was also sentenced concurrently for another residential burglary that took place in the 2800 block of Sheridan Road. Police charged him with that burglary after they found a fingerprint that matched his prints on the scene. 

About a month before the burglaries took place, Skamra was released on parole from Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, IL, after serving six years of a 12-year sentence for residential burglary.