Granite City Felon Charged After Apartment Burglary
Apartment break-in yields burglary charge against Granite City man with prior convictions.
GRANITE CITY – A Granite City man with a serious criminal past faces new charges after breaking into an apartment on Cleveland Boulevard.
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Deshawn L. Bell, 34, of Granite City, was charged on Aug. 21, 2025 with one count each of residential burglary (a Class 1 felony) and criminal trespass to property (a Class A misdemeanor).
Bell allegedly knowingly entered a Granite City residence in the 2000 block of Cleveland Boulevard without authority, intending to commit a theft and causing less than $500 worth of damage to the victim’s property on June 13, 2025.
Bell reportedly tried entering the victim’s residence earlier that day while the victim was at work before Officer James Hart of the Granite City Police Department arrived on scene. The victim had already made it clear to police that Bell “no longer resided at the apartment and had been kicked out, requiring police supervision for any entry,” according to the state’s petition to deny Bell’s pretrial release from custody.
“When Officer Hart instructed Bell he could gather his belongings only if he provided his apartment key, Bell became angry, refused to comply, and threw the key onto the neighbor's roof before leaving without his belongings,” the petition states. “Bell later returned without authorization and forcibly entered [the victim’s] apartment through the secondary door, which [the victim] had secured with a dining room chair that was found damaged.”
Bell later reportedly confirmed to the victim via phone call that he had unlawfully entered her apartment after leaving the first encounter with police.
While committing the offenses in this case, Bell was facing a pending felony charge for Failure to Report Address Change under the Violent Offender Against Youth and Murderer Registration Act. The petition notes Bell has “an escalating pattern of extremely serious criminal convictions” including a 2011 murder conviction out of St. Clair County for which he served 12 years in prison.
The Granite City Police Department presented the case against Bell, who was ordered remanded to jail for his initial appearance in court.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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