A north suburban man wanted on a warrant ran out of a hospital wearing only a patient gown last week, but was soon captured after he stole a pair of pants from a nearby vehicle, authorities said.
Matthew D. Brechel, 36, of Round Lake Beach had been taken to Condell Hospital in Libertyville with chest pains, security guards told Libertyville police.
Officers were called about 5:40 p.m. when he left the facility wearing only a hospital gown, police said. A records check then showed he was wanted on a Lake County warrant for failing to appear in court on a retail theft charge, police said.
A witness later called police to say they saw a man in a hospital gown enter a garage in the 100 block of Coolidge Avenue after entering a vehicle in the 100 block of Austin Avenue and taking a sweater and pants, police said.
Brechel was found a short time later at a Shell gas station on South Milwaukee Avenue, where he was arrested without incident, police said.
