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URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — A Carlinville man well familiar to law enforcement at the University of Illinois has been sentenced to prison for breaking into and stealing from an apartment during a string of criminal activity around campus.
Javarrias Miller, 24, has been arrested more than 10 times in the last year by Urbana and University Police. Most of those arrests were for burglary and theft, but Miller was also arrested for stalking and harassment.
One of those burglary incidents led to jail time. On Friday, Miller pleaded guilty to one count of residential burglary and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Prosecutors said they had evidence showing that on July 26, 2023, Miller broke into an apartment and stole food out of its cabinets, all while the tenants were sleeping inside the burglarized apartment. Urbana Police found fingerprints and surveillance footage at the scene that identified Miller as the culprit. He was arrested on Oct. 6.
At the time of the July break-in, Miller was on probation for using a stolen student ID card to gain access to a university dining hall. Even after his arraignment for the break-in, University Police officials said he continued to steal from the university area.
Miller was caught on Oct. 20 with a stolen university-owned laptop and packages addressed to other people. He was released from the Champaign County Jail a day later, only to continue his crime spree on Nov. 7 and Nov. 26. Pat Wade, a University Police spokesperson, said Miller was connected to another residential burglary, another laptop theft and the theft of an electric scooter on those days.
Miller was arrested for the final time on Dec. 2 and Champaign County Jail records indicate he has been in custody since then.
Miller faced anywhere from four to 15 years in prison for the July apartment break-in. He was ultimately given the minimum sentence and was given credit for 111 days already served in custody.
