Two arrested for campus burglaries

URBANA, Illinois – University of Illinois Police arrested two people early Wednesday for their involvement in the burglaries of two vehicles on campus.

Michelle Burns, 37, of Champaign, was arrested for burglary from a motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools. Joel Ford, 46, of Champaign, was arrested for possession of stolen property.

At 1:23 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, officers responded to Talbot Laboratory, 104 S. Wright St., Urbana, for reports of a burglary in progress. Officers saw two people, later identified as Burns and Ford, attempting to flee the area.

Burns complied with officers’ commands to stop, but Ford continued running. Officers found items from the burglarized vehicles in Burns’ possession.

Additional officers were dispatched to search for Ford, who was later located in the 200 block of East Clark Street, Champaign. Items taken from the vehicles were in Ford’s possession, along with additional items that did not belong to either victim.

A Public Safety telecommunicator helped confirm Burns and Ford’s involvement after reviewing security camera footage of the burglaries. Another Public Safety employee found security footage of Burns and Ford exiting a parking garage in the 600 block of East Stoughton Street, Champaign, which occurred before their interaction with police.

Upon discovery of that earlier video, an officer traveled to 610 E. Stoughton St., where he found two opened and discarded boxes in a parking spot. It was ultimately determined that the additional items in Ford’s possession came from those boxes, which were addressed to other people and did not belong to him.

Burns and Ford were taken to the Champaign County Jail, where they remain as of Thursday morning.

Please note, those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and formal charges may change as cases are adjudicated.