Man gets 22 years for stealing TV remote control in Wheaton

A man has been sentenced 22 years in prison for stealing a universal television remote control from a Wheaton apartment complex in August 2015.

Following a two-day trial on Nov. 9, a jury deliberated for 25 minutes and found Eric Bramwell, 35, guilty of burglary, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office. Based on his criminal record, he was eligible for up to 30 years in prison.

On Aug. 1, 2015, Bramwell walked into the common area of the apartment complex at 121 Cross St. in Wheaton, prosecutors said. He took the remote control unit but dropped a glove, which was found by police and tested for DNA, with a match made to Bramwell.

He's been held at the DuPage County Jail since Oct. 2, 2015.

Beginning in 2014, Bramwell had committed burglaries at apartment buildings, including taking televisions, in Lisle, Aurora, Bloomingdale, Downers Grove and Oakbrook Terrace.

By law, he must serve half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

"Mr. Bramwell's illegal activity and his history have finally caught up with him," state's attorney Robert Berlin said. "Regardless of what was stolen, Mr. Bramwell repeatedly thumbed his nose at the law. He took what he wanted time and time again, and expected to avoid the consequences."

Bramwell was arrested when he was 17 by the Franklin Park police and charged with residential burglary in connections with a series of house break-ins. The police said at the time that Bramwell and his partners broke into nearly a dozen homes to steal items they could pawn, including jewelry and power tools.

Police said Bramwell confessed to being "the ringleader" of the burglars and drove around with officers to show them which houses he burglarized.

article...