Monmouth men arrested after Dixon burglary

Two men from Monmouth have been arrested after Lee County deputies responded to a burglary in progress in rural Dixon.

Deputies were dispatched to the area of US Route 30 and Walton Road in rural Dixon for a burglary in progress in the evening on Thursday, July 11. Two people wearing masks were seen running from a residence and entering a black GMC Sierra pickup.  The truck left the residence and was seen traveling north towards Dixon. A witness saw a passenger exit the vehicle just south of Dixon on Pump Factory Road.

Dixon police officers who were in the area found the black GMC Sierra. They conducted a traffic stop near Rock Island Road and Atkinson Road and detained the driver, identified as Michael E. Miller, 42 of Monmouth. A short time later, deputies located a person walking west on Interstate 88 just outside of Dixon that matched the passenger’s description.

Miller was arrested and charged with:

• Residential burglary (class 1 felony)
• Theft (class 3 felony)
• Driving while license suspended (class A misdemeanor)
• Criminal trespass to real property (class B misdemeanor)
• Operating a motor vehicle with registration suspended (business offense)

Miller is currently on felony probation from Whiteside County.  On January 10 of this year, he was charged with burglary (class 2 felony) and retail theft greater than $300 (class 3 felony) in Whiteside County. He pleaded guilty to felony retail theft on June 12 and was placed on 24 months of probation.

Julian J. Belmonte, 30 from Monmouth, was arrested and charged with:

• Residential burglary (class 1 felony)
• Theft (class 3 felony)
• Possession of drug paraphernalia (class A misdemeanor)
• Criminal trespass to real property (class B misdemeanor)

Belmonte is on pretrial release out of Warren County on charges of child pornography (class 3 felony) that were filed on February 16 of this year. He also has pending charges of retail theft (class A misdemeanor) that were filed on February 15 in Whiteside County.

Miller and Belmonte were released on pretrial conditions in Lee County in accordance with the provisions of the SAFE-T Act. They both have preliminary hearings scheduled for July 24.

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