Teen dies after injury in attempted Sterling burglary
STERLING, Ill. — A man who attempted to burglarize a liquor store cut his arm on a broken window and died early Thursday from his injury, Sterling police said.
At 1:28 a.m., police received a 911 call about a person lying in the roadway in the 900 block of East 4th Street, two blocks from the store.
The man, identified as Tony C. Rupp, 19, had a severe laceration to his left arm. Police listed his address as Sterling, while court documents indicate previous residences in Fulton and Erie and his obituary lists his hometown as Clinton, Iowa.
Rupp was taken to CGH Medical Center, Sterling, where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m.
Police said the investigation revealed that Rupp had been involved in a burglary of Broadway Express Liquors, 302 Broadway Ave. During the process of entering through a broken window, he severely cut his left arm, police said.
The Whiteside County coroner has scheduled an autopsy for today to determine the exact cause of death.
“It just blows me away,” said Donna Rodriguez, a clerk at the store where the break-in occurred. “A 19-year-old died over some booze.
“I keep hoping that he doesn’t have any small children at home,” she added.
A plate-glass window on the front of the store was broken, Rodriguez said. It had been boarded up by the store’s owner by the time she arrived at work.
“I think he might have had a bottle of booze on him, and the cops called the owner and said go check the store,” she said.
As far as the break-in, she said, “He was underage. He knew he couldn’t buy it legally.”
Rupp was sentenced to 24 months on probation with special conditions after pleading guilty Feb. 26 to unlawful consumption of liquor by a minor, according to Whiteside County Circuit Court records. He also was ordered to pay a fine of $850 and $528 in fees and court costs.
Funeral arrangements are pending at Lemke South, Clinton, Iowa.
Thomas Geyer can be contacted at (563) 383-2328 or tgeyer@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.