Riverside police announced Thursday that they had arrested one of the men involved in an armed home invasion that took place in the 200 block of West Quincy Street in January 2019.
Detectives arrested Joshua Noah, 23, of Berwyn, as he left a court hearing at the Maybrook courthouse on Aug. 5. Noah had been free on bond and was appearing in court for a misdemeanor gun charge related to the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old Berwyn man at an Ogden Avenue auto repair shop in June.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that 30-year-old Brian Brown was killed June 29 during a shootout at Hit Em’ Hard Customs, 6320 W. Ogden Ave., sparked by an altercation over the progress of a car repair job.
On Wednesday, according to Riverside police, Noah pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor gun charge and was sentenced to three days in jail, which he’d already served.
At the time of his arrest, Noah was also free on bond for a 2019 armed violence charge against him in Cicero. That case is still pending.
Judge Paula Daleo set Noah’s bond for the Riverside case at $150,000 during a hearing Aug. 5 at Maybrook. If he is able to post bond, Noah will be subject to electronic monitoring.
Noah’s arrest capped a nearly 20-month long investigation by Riverside detectives, aided by investigators from the west suburban Major Case Assistance Team and the U.S. Secret Service Technical Data Unit.
“I know these types of crimes can be very traumatic to the victims, and I hope they can take some comfort in knowing one suspect has been arrested and held accountable,” said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a press release. “This case would not have been able to be brought to a conclusion without the initial patrol officers’ response on the night of the incident and proper documenting of evidence, interviewing witnesses and preserving evidence for detectives. This was a total team effort.”
According to police, three men kicked in the door of a West Quincy Street home early on Jan. 25, 2019 over an unpaid drug debt. They reportedly pistol-whipped a woman who lived there and then blindfolded and kidnapped her son, who is in his 20s.
The offenders placed the kidnapping victim inside his mother’s car and then drove away with him, fleeing police responding to scene southbound on Harlem Avenue and eastbound on I-55 at speeds reportedly topping 100 mph.
Despite the offenders’ getaway, police were able to track them because they’d stolen the victims’ cellphones. Police tracked the cellphones to an alley in the 4300 block of West 47th Street in Chicago, where the offenders had dumped the kidnapping victim.
The victim suffered head injuries and was missing several teeth as a result of being beaten by his abductors, police said. His mother was treated for a head injury she sustained in the pistol-whipping.
In addition to physical evidence, police analyzed cellphone data and, through the U.S. Secret Service’s Technical Data Team, reportedly were able to place Noah’s cellphone near the scene of the home invasion at the time it took place.
“There was other physical evidence leading to him as well,” Weitzel said.
The Cook County State’s Attorney approved charging Noah with one count of armed home invasion, a Class X felony punishable for between six and 30 years in prison, if convicted.
The state’s attorney may also convene a grand jury to seek an indictment, which could result in additional charges.
