Dixon police: Four suspects nabbed in water department worker scam

DIXON – Four Arlington Heights men suspected of pretending to be Dixon Water Department workers so they could target residents for thefts – and of perpetrating similar scams throughout Illinois – are in custody and facing burglary charges.

Mike Miller, 52, Lawrence Miller, 29, Sam Mason, 26, and Buddy Mason, 22, each is charged with one count of residential burglary, Dixon police said in a new release.

Mike Miller and Buddy Mason, who are father and son, were arrested Tuesday in Gurnee in Lake County and brought to Lee County jail.

They were indicted May 19 in Lee County in relation to a home on South Galena Avenue from which items were taken.

Mike Miller is being held on $200,000 bond, and Buddy Mason on $100,000. Both have pretrial conferences June 15.

Lawrence Miller and Sam Mason, whose relationship to the other two was not available Wednesday, were arrested April 10 in an unrelated case and are in DuPage County jail. Indictments likely have not yet been unsealed in Lee County.

Lawrence Miller also is charged there with residential burglary and possession of burglary tools; his bond is set at $100,000. Sam Mason is charged with residential burglary; his bond is $50,000.

More arrests are pending, according to the release.

Residential burglary is punishable by four to 15 years in prison.

Police received a call March 13 from a resident in the 1000 block of South Galena who said a man wearing a yellow and green vest and carrying what looked to be city documents asked him to go into the back yard with him.

While in the yard, the worker talked to another person using a walkie-talkie, and when the homeowner went back into the house, he discovered that items were missing.

Video surveillance from the neighborhood showed five suspects in a black Ford Edge.

Detectives provided the Illinois Tollway with a description of the SUV and were able to obtain other images of the vehicle through license plate readers. The information was disseminated statewide, and investigators learned that the same SUV was used in similar burglaries elsewhere.

Warrants for the four men were issued May 19, according to the release.

Glencoe and Naperville police and the North Regional Major Crime Task Force also were involved in the investigation.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Dixon Police Department at 815-288-4411, or through its social media sites.