Two charged with attempted burglary at Batavia Ace Hardware

BATAVIA – Two men were charged with attempted burglary after they were found Wednesday night with a ladder on the side of the Batavia Ace Hardware, according to police.

Christian Dean Seidelman, 36, of the first block of Whitney Way, Montgomery, and Lawrence R. Lynch, 46, of the first block of Anns Lane, Aurora, were each charged with one count of attempted burglary and criminal trespass to a building, according to a Batavia police news release.

Seidelman also was charged with one count each of possession of burglary tools and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, the release states.

Batavia police at about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday were dispatched to a call of a burglary-in-progress at Ace Hardware, 1901 W. Wilson St., Batavia, according to the release.

A store employee who was working late inside the store called police when he heard what he thought was people walking on the roof of the store, the release states.

The employee saw the roof access door panel in motion, apparently due to someone trying to force it open from the outside, according to the release.

Batavia officers responded and established a perimeter around the building. They found a man in dark clothing holding a ladder against the rear wall of the business and another man, also in dark clothing, climbing down the ladder, the release states.

The ladder did not belong to Ace Hardware and police suspect the men brought it to the scene, Batavia Police Detective Kevin Bretz stated Thursday in an email.

The men were later identified as Seidelman and Lynch. They were taken into custody without incident after it was determined they had no authorization to be on the property, according to the release.

Batavia police later Wednesday evening also responded to a report of an armed robbery of a pizza delivery man on the city's east side.

“The offenders involved in the burglary were in custody when the robbery happened,” Bretz wrote Thursday in an email. “There’s no evidence to indicate that the two calls are related in any way.”

By Thursday afternoon, Seidelman had posted bail and was no longer in the Kane County jail but Lynch remained jailed on $30,000 bond, according to jail records.

Lynch is next due in court at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The next date for Seidelman was not immediately available Thursday afternoon through online court records.