The man charged with a home invasion and sexual assault in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood last week was ordered detained at his first court hearing Wednesday.
Calvin Lindsey, 55, is charged with aggravated kidnapping and inflicting harm, home invasion with sexual offense, residential burglary, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated criminal sexual assault and kidnapping with force or threat to force, all felonies.
Police said around 10:30 a.m. Friday, a woman was home alone when Lindsey allegedly broke into her apartment, burglarized it and sexually assaulted her while armed with a gun.
The building's owner said the same man had burglarized multiple units in the apartment building after getting in by bumping a gate from the back alley open and entering through an unlocked door. The landlord said it took hours for police to respond to the home invasions and sex assault, even as he, the victim and the victim's fiancé called 911 multiple times.
The landlord said video from his building's surveillance captured the man, allegedly Lindsey, rifling through rooms in different apartments, stealing handguns, a game console and cell phones.
In fact, it was the game console that led to Lindsey's arrest.
According to police records, a PlayStation 5 was pawned at an Ashland Avenue business about an hour after the attack at Ashland Jewelers and Pawners.
"When they showed me the picture too, he was wearing the same hat. I instantly knew that was the same guy too," said Ivan Sosa.
With help from Ivan Sosa at the pawn shop, detectives traced the transaction to Lindsey, who police said was spotted walking in the neighborhood — wearing clothing matching what investigators had seen in the apartment's Ring camera footage and at the pawn shop. He was taken into custody.
"We're good people in this community. You know, we all, we just try to work hard, keep our people safe. You know, that's what we try to do here," Sosa said.
Prosecutors say Lindsey has a lengthy criminal history that stretches for years, with 11 felony convictions in two states — Illinois and Minnesota.
In 2014, he was convicted of aggravated robbery, robbery of a handicapped or older victim and residential burglary from two separate 2011 incidents. He was sentenced to 16 years and six years — both sentences to run simultaneously.
Then, in 2021, he was arrested again, facing charges for armed robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking involving a 90-year-old man. He ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking and was sentenced to five years in prison.
"So he has been what we call a recidivist, and he's the ultimate recidivist in my opinion. I think he, if he's convicted of this, he will spend the rest of his life in the penitentiary. There's no question the public needs to be protected from this guy," said CBS News Chicago legal analyst Irv Miller.
As for the Auburn Gresham case, he was ordered held. But questions remain about why CPD had such a slow response time, with officers not arriving at the building until about five hours after the assault.
"This should be a wake-up call for the communications department, the Chicago Police Department. There has to be some remedy for this." Miller said.
The Chicago Police Department told CBS News Chicago that an internal investigation has been initiated into the incident. Back in court, prosecutors said they have not been able to track down the stolen gun from that apartment.
In addition to being held in custody until his next court appearance, the judge also issued a no-contact order for him and the victim.
