Police: Ottawa parolee tried to break into home, stole items from delivery vehicle

An Ottawa parolee was arrested Monday after a pair of burglary investigations

Daniel J. Zeal, 33, was ordered held on $150,000 bail on three charges. These include residential burglary, a Class 1 felony carrying a sentence of four to 15 years in prison, one count of burglary, a Class 3 felony carrying a sentence of two to five years, and one count of misdemeanor battery. However, Zeal is currently on parole through the Illinois Department of Corrections and might be unable to bond out of the La Salle County Jail.

Ottawa police were dispatched at 10:16 a.m. Monday to the 300 block of East Prospect Street on a report of a suspicious person trespassing in a residence, police said. Officers arrived and made contact with a contractor who had observed the person trespassing in the residence, who fled when confronted.

Video surveillance showed someone trying to gain access to the home before being confronted. It was later determined items had been removed from the home by the suspect.

At 12:23 p.m., Ottawa police were sent to the 500 block of East Norris Drive on a report that someone stole items from the inside of a delivery vehicle. The thief battered the driver when confronted, police said.

Officers located a suspect, later identified as Zeal, in the 800 block of East Norris Drive, where he was arrested. Zeal was then linked to the residential burglary that had occurred earlier on East Prospect Street, police said.