A 52-year-old man with a long history of burglaries and thefts was arrested earlier this month while allegedly committing another burglary in Roscoe Village, despite the fact that he had three open warrants and was meant to be on electronic monitoring, according to prosecutors and court records.
Ruben Malave, a 13-time convicted burglar and thief, was apprehended by Chicago police at 3:23 a.m. on July 7, after reportedly breaking into a residential building in the 1600 block of West Belmont and stealing goods. Prosecutors claim Malave was carrying bolt cutters, wire cutters, and a flathead screwdriver when he was arrested. He has now been charged with two counts of burglary and possession of burglary tools.
Malave had three outstanding warrants at the time of his arrest, according to court documents, because he failed to appear for court hearings in three separate burglary cases. He was also under electronic surveillance and had a midnight curfew, according to records, but he left after 3 a.m.
These cases allege that on September 25, 2024, he broke into a West Loop condo complex in the 800 block of West Adams and took bicycles. According to police, he was recognized using security video.
Malave has been involved in the criminal justice system for over a decade. In 2022, he received a four-year sentence for eight burglaries and two felony thefts. In 2011, he was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for burglary and 18 months for a separate felony theft conviction. In 2019, he received a two-year sentence for felony theft in a case that had previously been charged as burglary.
He is currently being jailed for violating pretrial release conditions in the September 2024 burglary cases.
