Dupage Policy Journal

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced that late yesterday afternoon Judge Joseph Bugos sentenced Joseph Covington, 28, formerly of Chicago, to thirty-one years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. This follows Covington's guilty plea to one count of Home Invasion (Class X Felony) on April 3, 2024. At his appearance in Bond Court, Judge Brian Telander ordered he be held without bond. He has remained in custody at the DuPage County Jail.

On the morning of November 26, 2019, officers from the Darien Police Department responded to a residence on Belair Drive for a report of a home invasion. Upon arrival, officers met with the victim, a female who was home alone from college that morning. Following an investigation, authorities learned that at approximately 9:00 a.m., after hearing a knock at the front door, the victim looked out her bedroom window into the backyard and noticed an individual wearing an orange utility vest and black ski mask. As she turned around in her bedroom, she was confronted by another individual wearing dark clothing and a black ski mask, pointing a black and silver handgun at her.

The masked individual forced the victim downstairs at gunpoint where she was confronted by three additional male subjects wearing masks. The masked individuals, one of whom was later identified as Covington, demanded to know where money was located inside the home. Authorities also learned through their investigation that after repeated phone calls by the victim’s mother went unanswered, the masked individuals instructed the victim to answer her mother's call and tell her everything was alright.

After that conversation, the victim’s mother contacted a neighbor who went to the residence. After the victim opened the door at the instruction of the intruders, the neighbor was able to pull her out of the residence and call 911. Officers along with a K-9 Unit arrived at the scene and were able to track the intruder’s path through backyards they took when fleeing. Officers located a .40 caliber black and silver handgun loaded with thirteen rounds along a fence line in a neighbor's yard as well as various clothing items of evidentiary value along their path.

A short time later, officers responded to a nearby Taco Bell parking lot for an individual who matched descriptions given by witnesses; this person was later identified as Covington and taken into custody.

“I cannot begin to imagine the unspeakable terror the victim... must have felt when she saw a masked man in her backyard and then was confronted by another armed, masked man in her bedroom,” Berlin said. “Our homes are our sanctuaries... Mr. Covington not only stole... comfort and protection... but also left an entire community on edge... The sentence imposed against Mr. Covington sends [a] message... we will not tolerate this type of violent criminal behavior.”

Berlin thanked "the Darien Police Department for their prompt response" and acknowledged Assistant State’s Attorneys Lee Roupas and Denis Cahill "for their efforts in securing [the] conviction."