Fox Lake man pleads guilty to stealing power tools from Spring Grove garage, gets 3 years in prison

A Fox Lake man pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing power tools from a garage in Spring Grove and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to documents in the McHenry County courthouse.

Jeffrey Gniech, 50, of the 0 to 10 block of Rose Avenue, entered into a negotiated plea of guilty to theft of between $500 and $10,000, according to court records.

Gniech, who also has a Johnsburg address listed as his residence in the McHenry County Jail log, was accused of entering the garage on or about May 25, 2022, at the Spring Grove property and obtaining “control over stolen property” being power tools valued at more than $500, according to a document filed in the courthouse.

In exchange for his guilty plea, charges of burglary and residential burglary of the same property on that same date were dismissed, according to court documents.

Gniech also was ordered to pay $624 in fines and $625 in restitution. Additional fees imposed were waved, according to supplemental sentencing documents. He is required to serve 50% of his sentence in prison and will serve 12 months of mandatory supervised release afterward.