Joliet man in ‘Halloween mask’ charged with armed home invasion in New Lenox

A masked Joliet man armed with a gun had allegedly invaded a New Lenox residence, battered a 74-year-old man after demanding gold and then took silver coins and jewelry from him, prosecutors said.

Brian McDaniel, 61, is facing charges of home invasion and aggravated battery following a New Lenox Police Department investigation of the incident.

On April 16, officers responded to a home invasion at a residence in the 500 block of North Cooper Road.

A 74-year-old male resident told officers that he was the victim of a home invasion and he believed the man responsible was McDaniel, according to a court filing from prosecutors and a statement from New Lenox police.

The victim told police that a man knocked on his front door claiming to be a police officer, prosecutors said.

The victim asked to see the man’s badge several times but the man told him to open the door or he would break it down, prosecutors said.

When the victim opened the door, a man “pushed his way into the house” and battered him several times with a gun “wrapped in black tape and a LED-style flashlight” attached to the tape, prosecutors said.

The man was wearing a “black, plastic Halloween mask,” according to a statement from New Lenox police.

The victim believed the masked man was McDaniel based on his physical attributes, prosecutors said.

The man told the victim that he was sent by the victim’s girlfriend to kill him but he did not want to kill him “because he was a good guy,” prosecutors said.

The man then demanded gold, prosecutors said.

The victim told officers investigating the incident that he had about $5,000 to $6,000 worth of gold in his house and only his girlfriend knew about the gold, prosecutors said.

However, the victim’s girlfriend was not aware that he sold it, prosecutors said.

When the victim told the man there was no gold, that’s when the man began to beat him in the face and head with a gun, prosecutors said.

The victim then offered the man silver coins and jewelry, prosecutors said. The man took those items, along with “multiple gold necklaces” belonging to the victim’s deceased wife, prosecutors said.

The man then took a firearm from the victim’s nightstand, which only the victim’s girlfriend knew, prosecutors said.

Afterward, the man told the victim to lie on his bed and count to 30, prosecutors said.

After the man left the house, the victim called 911, prosecutors said.