Christopher Hornezes | Illinois Department of Corrections
(LAKE COUNTY) Authorities are searching for a 27-year-old man who has disguised himself as a woman during a north suburban crime spree that started Thursday morning, one day after he was paroled for a previous burglary conviction, according to police.
Christopher Hornezes, released on parole Wednesday after serving about four months at the Illinois River Correctional Center in downstate Canton, is wanted for carjacking and armed robbery, authorities said.
About 9 a.m. Thursday, he was armed with knife when he went after the driver of a silver 2004 Hyundai Elantra in an alley in the 100 block of South Genesee Street in Waukegan. Hornezes made off with the vehicle and the belongings of the driver, who suffered “very minor injuries,” Waukegan police said.
Hornezes then donned a long wig, yoga pants and a skirt while holding up the Subway restaurant near Lake Cook Road and Skokie Boulevard in Northbrook about 8:50 p.m. Friday, according to Gurnee police.
He followed that up by jumping over the counter at the Circle K gas station on Milwaukee Avenue and Aptakisic Road in Lincolnshire when the clerk opened the cash drawer at 5:40 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Four hours later, Hornezes had his brown wig pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing blue skinny jeans while robbing a store in Gurnee’s 6900 block of Grand Avenue about 9:30 a.m., police said.
Hornezes, described as a 5-foot-6, 200-pound black man with a medium build, made off with an unspecified amount of cash in each robbery. He has wielded a knife in all three incidents, and police think he is still driving the Hyundai he stole in Waukegan.
He was released on parole Wednesday for September 2013 convictions in Lake County for burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Anyone with any information should call Gurnee police at (847) 599-7000, Waukegan police at (847) 599-2608, Lincolnshire police at (847) 883-9900 or Northbrook police at (847) 664-4462.
