Jonathan Minter | Chicago police
CHICAGO - A Chicago man has been sentenced to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for his role in a series of burglaries and identity thefts spanning several years.
Jonathan Minter, 38, pleaded guilty on Monday to burglary charges.
The case stems from a series of incidents between September 2023 and February 2024, during which Minter used counterfeit postal keys to illegally access residential mailboxes in condominiums and apartments across Chicago.
Investigators linked Minter to approximately 20 burglaries and identity theft.
Joint Investigation Leads to Arrests
Minter was first arrested on Sept. 28, 2023, following a joint investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Chicago Police Department. Authorities also arrested Andrew Kirkpatrick, 31, of Champaign, Illinois, identifying both men as suspects in numerous apartment burglaries, mail thefts and subsequent identity thefts in 2022 and 2023.
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Minter faced five felony burglary charges in Chicago after this arrest.
A second arrest followed on Oct. 23, 2023, after Minter was accused of unlawfully entering at least seven residences and stealing items. These incidents occurred at apartment complexes in several neighborhoods, including Peterson Park, Andersonville, Old Norwood Park, Edgewater, Lake View and the South Loop.
Specific burglary dates and locations included:
- April 3: 5900 block of North Lincoln Avenue (Peterson Park)
- April 9: 5800 block of North Clark Street (Andersonville)
- April 15-16: 110 block of West Ardmore Avenue (Old Norwood Park)
- April 16: 5600 block of North Broadway (Edgewater)
- April 17: 5700 block of North Winthrop Avenue (Edgewater)
- Sept. 7: 3800 block of North Fremont Street (Lake View)
- Sept. 28: 1800 block of South Michigan Avenue (South Loop)
In this instance, Minter faced seven additional felony burglary charges.
Final Arrest and Sentencing
Minter’s third arrest occurred on Feb. 13, 2024, during another joint investigation involving the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Chicago Police Department. He was charged with three felony counts of burglary and four felony counts of identity theft.
At the time of his February arrest, Minter had absconded from pretrial release on earlier charges and faced more than a dozen warrants for failure to appear in court.
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At the time of Minter's last arrest, Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Chicago Division, released a statement, praising the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies:
"The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to defending the nation’s mail system from criminal activity, preserving the integrity of the U.S. Mail, and protecting United States Postal Service employees. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service values our law enforcement partners for supporting our mission to protect the integrity of the U.S. Mail."