A trio of alleged burglars were caught shortly after attempting to break into a Skokie home on Monday. One of the suspects was captured at School District 68's administrative building, 9440 Kenton Ave., resulting in a "soft lockdown" for the building, police said.

Officers initially responded to a residential burglary in the 9400 block of Lemington Avenue on May 14 around 12 p.m. According to police, three men were attempting to break into a home through an attached garage. While unsuccessful, a nearby resident witnessed the crime and contacted authorities shortly after the group fled.

The witness's description matched that of a similar incident that took place in Morton Grove a few days earlier. Police would soon locate two of the alleged suspects at BP Gas Station, 4511 Golf Road. Upon searching the vehicle, officers also located several stolen items, they said.

The third suspect was chased down on foot after he entered School District 68's administrative building in an attempt to escape from officers, police said.  Staff would soon resume activity after officers cleared the building of any threat, police said.

In the end, police charged Justin Johnson, 21, of Beach Park, Demone Hill, 21, of Evanston and Donald Montgomery, 22, of Chicago, with felony possession of stolen property. Hill was also charged with resisting arrest.

“This was an ideal situation where the citizens knew exactly what to do,” officer Joe Marzigliano told TribLocal Skokie. “They got the information. They didn’t hesitate. They called 911 immediately and our guys were right on the spot and we were able to make the arrest.”

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