Bradley Finnan, pictured, has been charged with the death of his alleged accomplice and home invasion
A homeowner stopped an attempted break-in during coronavirus lockdown by fatally shooting one of the two intruders and beating the other.
Doorbell footage released by Illinois police shows Bradley Finnan, 38, and Larry Brodacz, 58, approaching a home in Arlington Heights, North Evergreen Avenue in Chicago at around 1:55pm on Saturday afternoon, wearing masks, gloves, baseball caps and black jackets.
The pair allegedly said they were police officers, and video footage shows one intruder saying ‘Hey, how you doing boss?’ before they both barge inside the house which was occupied by a man, 50, his wife, 48, and their two children aged 11 and 14.
At this point distressing screams can be heard from within, with a female voice clearly yelling ‘Hey!’ repeatedly. The homeowner’s wife told police she saw the men with guns in her foyer before Brodacz chased her upstairs, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The wife hid in her children’s bedroom but Brodacz allegedly smashed through the door, snatching the couple’s son and daughter before pinning them on a bed and pointing his gun at them.
When the children’s mother begged him not to shoot, Brodacz pulled his gun on her and pushed her to the floor, authorities said.
It is believed that the struggle outside between Finnan and the homeowner took place while Brodacz was terrorising the rest of the family within.
Video footage shows the barefoot homeowner, dressed in a red t-shirt and shorts, shoving Finnan out the door. He pins him to the ground and punches him repeatedly, landing a series of blows.
The homeowner can be heard shouting for help towards landscapers across the street. Finnan escapes the homeowners’ grip, and trips into the street and makes off in Brodacz’s Lexus as the homeowner races back inside.
Bradley Finnan, 39, and Larry Brodacz, 58, approach the Arlington Heights home, doorbell footage released by Illinois police shows. Authorities say Finnan carried a bag containing zip-ties and a blow torch. Police later recovered the bag, as well as various gun rounds, from the scene
The would-be robbers can be seen wearing baseball caps, jeans and black jackets as they approach and ring the doorbell in the usually quiet neighbourhood
Brodacz left the room with the mother and children only when he heard the homeowner shouting his wife’s name from inside the house home. The homeowner had found his wife’s gun in the master bedroom, where a struggle ensued with Brodacz, the Chicago Tribune said.
The male homeowner told police he fired his wife’s gun but it missed Brodacz. At some point during the struggle he said Brodacz pulled a knife from his waistband and began to approach him.
At this point the homeowner fired his wife’s gun again, shooting Brodacz in the abdomen as he advanced towards him. Brodacz was pronounced dead at the scene by police, who had been called by the couple’s 14-year-old child. Cook County’s medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide.
The homeowner shoves the would-be robber back outside his home and can be seen throwing a series of punches
Finnan escapes the homeowners’ grip and dashes away from the scene. He was later captured by police at his mother’s home and charged with murder and home invasion by Cook County prosecutors
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office court records say that Brodacz and Finnan’s scheme was deliberately hatched to coincide with the state’s stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Arlington Heights Police arrived shortly after Finnan fled and found the homeowner’s wife in front of the family home screaming that her husband was inside and fighting someone with a gun.
The Daily Herald reported that police met the male homeowner, who was bleeding from a head wound allegedly inflicted by Bodacz and carrying a gun, as he walked down from the second story and told them he had shot the offender.
Officers discovered two 9mm cartridge cases, a knife, a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun loaded with seven, .25 caliber rounds, and the wife’s 9mm handgun in the master bedroom.
Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the nation’s largest jails with around 5,500 people incarcerated
The usually quiet neighborhood was soon teaming with law enforcement, including a SWAT team, and officers with the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System and the Major Case Assistance Team.
Finnan from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was later found by police at his mother’s home. He allegedly told police he knew Brodacz through a previous job at a car dealership.
He told investigators Brodacz claimed to have $200,000 in boxes at the home 20 years ago and believed it was there, according to The Daily Herald, and that he knew Brodacz from a car dealership where the both worked.
On Tuesday he was charged with felony murder and home invasion after allegedly being one of the two armed men.
Finnan is being held in Cook County Jail without bail following a bond hearing. He has been charged under a statute that allows defendants to be charged with murder if they take part in a felony offense that leads to another person’s death, even if the defendant was not directly involved in the killing.
Finnan could face a life sentence if convicted and will next appears in court on April 21.