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Lakeview Home Invasion Followed By Quick Arrest, Prosecutors Say

By Erica Demarest | September 22, 2017 6:11am
 Robert Zajler, 25, and William Haley, 24, are charged with home invasion and armed robbery.
Robert Zajler, 25, and William Haley, 24, are charged with home invasion and armed robbery.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two men stole iPhones Wednesday after they accosted a Lakeview man and forced him into his apartment at gunpoint, prosecutors said.

The 46-year-old victim was waiting for a guest near his front door in the 3800 block of North Clark Street when William Haley, 24, pushed him inside, according to police and prosecutors.

Accomplice Robert Zajler, 25, demanded money and drugs as he and Haley forced the victim back into his second-floor apartment at gunpoint, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Thursday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, 2650 S. California Ave.

The victim said he didn't have money or drugs, prosecutors said. Zajler instead took an iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 from the apartment, court records show.

According to Antonietti, Zajler and Haley threatened to shoot the victim if he moved.

After the attackers left, prosecutors said, the victim borrowed a phone from one of his two roommates — both of whom had slept through the attack — and called 911. A witness saw Haley and Zajler speed away in a silver SUV, Antonietti said.

Police stopped a silver 2002 Toyota Highlander in the 3200 block of North Clark Street about 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report. Haley and Zajler were arrested with a silver handgun and the victim's phones.

Both men are charged with home invasion and armed robbery.

Zajler, of northwest suburban Des Plaines, was free on bond for a suburban theft at the time of the attack, prosecutors said. Bail had been set in Skokie at $25,000. He was previously convicted of aggravated battery and criminal trespassing.

According to his public defender, Zajler is married and the father of a 19-month-old daughter. He is a high school graduate who works for a moving company and was previously trained in automotive work.

Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. denied Zajler bail Thursday, calling him "a real and present threat to the community."

Haley, of the 3800 block of West Wilcox Street, has no prior criminal history. His public defender said Haley is a graduate of Loyola Academy who previously studied secondary education at Concordia University Chicago. He has a 6-month-old child.

Lyke set bail for Haley at $20,000.