Police nab wanted man who skipped bail in 2002 assault
Now facing weapon, drug charges


April 18, 2008
By Jennifer Golz jgolz@scn1.com
He may not have appeared on "America's Most Wanted," but Miguel Pineda was certainly one of DuPage County's most wanted.

That is until a routine traffic stop in a Cook County suburb netted the arrest of the drug dealer who claimed cartel connections.

A warrant had been out for the arrest of Pineda, 33, of Chicago, since he missed his December court date for the alleged 2002 assault of a Naperville couple in their home.

Pineda and accomplices allegedly forced their way into the couple's home in the 300 block of River Bluff Circle, held them at bay with handguns and ransacked their home, making off with an estimated $500,000 in jewelry, cash, guns and other collectibles.

Implicated in the crime was Carla S. Zamora, 30, of Aurora who was employed as the male homeowner's secretary at the time. During interviews with police, Zamora failed to tell them she purchased the two-way radios Pineda and others used during the crime. Two years ago she pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer and was sentenced to six months conditional discharge and 10 days in the sheriff's work alternative program.

A third suspect in the case, Victor M. Rodriguez, 34, of Chicago remains a fugitive wanted on a $1 million warrant that was issued at the time of his 27-count indictment in November 2005. He faces identical charges as Pineda.

Pineda posted $100,000 bond in 2005 and had made his monthly court appearances for two years. But last month after missing four consecutive court dates, a DuPage County judge set jury selection in Pineda's trial to being May 19, with or without Pineda.

Now, thanks to a routine traffic stop last week in Forest Park, about 20 miles east of Naperville, Pineda will make his next court appearance April 25 in DuPage County, and ultimately the trial.

Forest Park police attempted to curb Pineda on April 9 for failing to use his turn signal near Roosevelt Road and Maple Avenue, but he sped off and a chase ensued into neighboring Berwyn.

Police spotted Pineda's abandoned car in front of an apartment building in the 1200 block of Harlem Avenue. Inside the car was a brick of cocaine and multiple cell phones, according to Cook County state's attorney spokesman Andy Conklin.

The car's registration led police to a basement apartment where several more cocaine bricks - about 5,500 grams or 12 pounds total - were recovered, in addition to narcotics processing equipment, about $150,000 and a .22 caliber pistol with a silencer, according to police.

A woman from a second-floor apartment in the building alerted police that someone was hiding in her closet. That someone was Pineda.

"In the process of arresting him, he offered one the officers $5,000 if they let him go," Conklin said.

Although Pineda has not been formally charged with bribery (the case has yet to be presented to a grand jury, which issues indictments), he is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class X felony punishable by up to 120 years in prison, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated fleeing and eluding, Conklin said.

"It just goes to show you what a traffic stop can lead to," Forest Park Deputy Chief Tom Aftanas said.

Aftanas said Pineda told arresting officers he had been featured on the true-crime show "America's Most Wanted" for his connections to a street gang for which he transported cocaine.

A spokeswoman with the show confirmed Pineda never appeared on the crime show; however, she said there is always the possibility of an alias of connection to an unsolved crime.

Pineda is set to appear April 25 in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton.


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