A woman out on parole for 16 burglary convictions robbed a River Forest woman as she walked to her car in a River Forest Town Center parking lot last Thursday. Rosalind Redditt, 43, was arrested after being identified as the person who stole $80 in cash and a gas credit card from a shopper.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said “a huge woman came out of nowhere” and grabbed her as she approached her car. Redditt, who is 5 feet 6 and weighs 305 pounds, has 22 convictions for offenses including burglary, retail theft and armed robbery. She was paroled last fall after serving 4 years of a 10-year sentence for 16 burglary convictions.
Burglary
Someone entered a home in the 1200 block of Edmer Street the night of Nov. 6 via an unlocked rear kitchen door while a babysitter was in the front of the house and two children were sleeping upstairs. An iBook computer, digital camera, backpack and computer speaker belonging to the homeowner were stolen, as was a purse belonging to the babysitter, which contained a palm pilot, flip phone, $10 cash and credit cards. Total loss was $3,070.
Sometime between Oct. 13 and Nov. 5 thieves stole jewelry and coins valued at $6,160 from a home in the 400 block of North Cuyler.
Someone kicked in the rear door of a home in the 200 block of South Austin Boulevard during the day Nov. 9 and stole a television, VCR, gold ring and 25 DVDs.
Someone slipped through an unlocked rear door in the 400 block of South Harvey Avenue the afternoon of Nov. 9 and stole a purse wallet containing $50 and a cellphone.
Thieves entered through the unlocked side door of a home in the 900 block of Mapleton between Nov. 4 and Nov 6 and stole jewelry valued at $1,500 and $100 cash.
Sometime between Nov. 7 and Nov. 10 a car in the 1000 block of Wisconsin was entered with a pry tool, and a DVD and ceiling TV were stolen. The dashboard was severely damaged during an attempt to steal the vehicle’s navigation system. Loss was $1,400.
Thieves broke a side window of a Pontiac Grand Prix in the 800 block of South East Avenue Nov. 9 and stole a radar detector.
Retail theft
Someone entered the Shell gas station at Madison and Ridgeland through an unlocked door overnight on Nov. 5 and stole three books of lotto tickets valued at $1,800.
Craig A. Tantarri, 48, was arrested after allegedly leaving the Jewel Store, 7525 Lake St. with $133 worth of liquor without paying the morning of Nov. 9.
A man and a woman stole six comforter sets valued at $120 from the Deals store, 6405 North Ave., the morning of Nov. 9.
Theft
A Libertyville woman had her purse stolen the afternoon of Nov. 8 inside Panera Bread by a woman who leaned in close to her and asked for help reading a menu.
A woman shopping in Whole Food Market had her wallet, which contained $600, stolen from her purse.
Criminal damage to property
BB vandalism is on the rise again. Car windows were shot out in the 200 block of Harrison Street, the 500 and 600 blocks of South Cuyler Avenue, and two in the 1150 block of South Taylor Avenue. One car sustained $950 in damage. In addition, a house in the 500 block of South Cuyler sustained BB-like damage to two windows.
The morning of Nov. 3, a juvenile was arrested at Oak Park and River Forest High School after he brought a BB gun to school and showed it to fellow students.
An Oak Park woman observed a man shatter the window of a car in the 700 block of Garfield Street with a garbage can just before midnight Nov. 11.
Washrooms at two River Forest parks were vandalized with spray paint last week. The afternoon of Nov. 10 a washroom at Priory Park was sprayed. The afternoon of Nov. 12 graffiti was painted at a park in the 7900 block of Washington Boulevard.
Drugs
Following a traffic stop the afternoon of Nov. 10, Gary B. Hale, 30, of Bolingbrook was allegedly found in possession of two baggies containing a powder that tested positive for .7 grams of heroin.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Oak Park and River Forest Police departments from November 5 to November 12. Not all incidents that occurred are listed. Anyone named in reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated.
-compiled by Bill Dwyer
Oak Park police say a trio of copper thieves came back one time to many Monday night. Three people are in custody after police spotted a vehicle matching the description of one used in several previous thefts. The three- two males and a female- were being processed by police Tuesday morning.
After a quiet summer, theft of copper downspouts had increased markedly this month. After only seven total thefts in September and October in Oak Park, there were 12 thefts last week alone-including two thefts five days apart at St. Giles Church, which lost $900 in gutters. The gutters, which are being stolen off garages and homes as well as churches, range in cost from $150 to $600-though the afternoon of Nov. 12, six sections totaling 63 feet in length and valued at $1,260, were taken off First United Methodist Church, 324 N. Oak Park Ave.
Oak Park Deputy Chief Bob Scianna said the descriptions of individuals seen stealing the valuable metal ranges from young white males in their early 20s to older black males in their 30s and 40s.
Scianna said part of the problem with the valuable metal gutters, which can be sold at scrapyards for roughly $3 per pound, is that scrapyards, unlike pawn shops, are not regulated.
“There’s no accountability,” he said. “It’s ‘Here’s my copper. How much is it worth?'”
