Parolee accused of stealing Christmas gifts from Crystal Lake church heads back to prison for theft from car

A Chicago man who was on parole when he was accused of multiple thefts – including stealing Christmas presents from a Crystal Lake church – pleaded guilty Wednesday to burglary from a vehicle.

George J. Ashetzie, 68, was sentenced to five years in prison, of which he is ordered to serve half. He will get credit for 322 days spent in jail. His prison time will be followed by six months of mandatory supervised release, according to an order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis filed in McHenry County court.

Ashetzie was ordered to pay more than $3,600 to the Cary man whose identification and credit cards he was accused of stealing from a vehicle in December 2022, according to a restitution order. Ashetzie was accused of using at least one of the credit cards to buy items at a Crystal Lake Target and Walmart, according to the indictment against Ashetzie.

In exchange for his guilty plea, additional charges were dismissed, including identity theft involving $300 to $2,000, possession of another’s credit card, theft of property worth less than $500 with a previous conviction and from a place of worship.

Ashetzie initially was accused of taking 11 presents from St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Crystal Lake in November 2022, according to the indictment.

He also had been accused of unlawfully possessing another person’s credit card and stealing two wallets and two I-Pass transponders, according to the indictment.

A separate case was dismissed against Ashetzie. Those charges had, similar to the other case, included burglary to a vehicle, identity theft, possession of three or more stolen credit cards, theft and criminal trespass to a vehicle, court records show.

Ashetzie is a registered sex offender from convictions in the 1980s, according to official records. He is currently listed on the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry as “noncompliant.”

When he was charged in McHenry County, he was on parole, having served time in McHenry, Lake and DuPage counties, which also involved identity theft and burglary, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Ashetzie also has pending charges in Kane County of fraudulent credit card use, official records show.