Police: Teen Car Burglar Caught in the Act

Police say they arrested and charged a 17-year-old Evanston man after they caught him trying to break into a car on the city's northwest side early Thursday morning.

Jodeci Johnson, 17, of the 800 block of Brummel Street in Evanston, is charged with one count of burglary as an adult, a felony, police said.

Officers were wearing civilian clothes and working on a burglary mission when they spotted Johnson tampering with a car in the 2600 block of Central Park Avenue around 2:15 a.m. Thursday morning. When police tried to stop him, he ran away, and officers stopped him a short distance later.

Johnson had more than $50 in loose change, a GPS unit and headphones, according to police. Police tracked the GPS unit to its rightful owner, who lived not far away, and determined that Johnson had gone into the car and taken the unit from the glove box, police said.

"It is believed that Johnson went into numerous unlocked vehicles looking for items and loose change based on statements Johnson had made to police," police spokesperson Cmdr. Jay Parrott said in a release.