A Cicero man, believed to be connected to a string of copper thefts in Oak Park, was arrested Wednesday.
According to Oak Park police summary reports, Henry W. Teska, 23, of the 5800 block of W. Roosevelt, was arrested for felony and misdemeanor theft and criminal damage to property for separate thefts that occurred at locations between the 1000 and 1100 blocks of Lyman.
Oak Park Deputy Chief Anthony Ambrose said the police are in the process of trying to connect Teska to a string of thefts in the village in which outdoor air-conditioning units were targeted for the copper inside. “The investigation is continuing,” Ambrose said. “We’re still interviewing the victims of other air conditioner thefts to see if we can charge him on additional counts.”
There have been a total of seven thefts involving air-conditioning units reported to Oak Park police since April 15.
In one of the incidents, an observer spotted the offender in the backyard of a nearby residence, removing a copper condenser coil from an outdoor air-conditioning unit. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. Teska was picked up by police for matching the description of an offender in a similar theft in Berwyn and charged with misdemeanor theft there before being turned over to the Oak Park police. The suspect is also believed to be connected with similar crimes in Cicero.
