Two more people were victimized by street thugs last week. The strong-armed robberies were in addition to three armed street robberies.
Around 6:40 p.m. Halloween night, Oct. 31, on the 1000 block of Harrison Street, a boy described as being in his mid-teens punched a younger boy in the head and demanded, “Give me the candy.” He then grabbed the trick-or-treater’s bag and ran off.
The next night around 8 p.m. a Winfield man was attacked by a gang of five youths near the North Blvd. Metra station, 1019 North Blvd. They punched him in the face and took his iPod and cell phone, valued in total at $500.
Rash of vehicle burglaries
Numerous car and garage/car burglaries took place in South Oak Park last week. In most cases, thieves got small items and coins. However, a laptop computer, valued at $2,170, was stolen from one car, and an in-dash stereo, cellphone and CDs, valued in total at $1,890, from another. One address on the 1000 block of South Humphrey Ave. saw three vehicles burglarized and three other cars on the same alley broken into, the night of Oct. 27. The next night thieves returned with keys stolen in the burglary of a 1995 Honda Accord and stole the car itself.
Two cars were also burglarized on the 1000 block of South Lyman Ave., and another on the 1000 block of South Oak Park Ave, overnight Oct. 27.
During the day, a car window on the 1000 block of North Ridgeland Ave. was smashed and $150 in coins stolen.
Overnight Oct. 28, a garage door opener was stolen from an unlocked car on the 900 block of Washington Blvd.
Overnight Oct. 29, a car on the 300 block of South Oak Park Ave. was entered, possibly using a “slim-jim” device. An iPod, garage door remote, and $4 in coins were stolen.
That same night, the side window of a car on the 200 block of South Scoville Ave. was broken, but nothing was taken.
A man was observed ransacking a car on the 700 block of North Humphrey Ave., the afternoon of Nov. 2. He ran off down an alley after taking $3 in coins.
Unlocked vehicles were ransacked in River Forest on the 400 block of Clinton Place, overnight Oct. 29 and the morning of Oct. 30.
Burglary
A residence on the 900 block of North Blvd. was broken into by unknown means, overnight Oct. 28. Two laptops, valued at $3,800, were stolen.
The evening of Oct. 30, someone stole a 42-inch flat-screen television, valued at $3,500, from an apartment on the 900 block of South Oak Park Ave.
Burglars smashed the rear door window of a home on the 1100 block of South Ridgeland Ave., the afternoon of Nov. 1, and stole a camera, coins and jewelry, valued at $640.
Screens were cut and a business on the first block of Harrison was entered, Oct.27-30, but nothing was taken.
Violation of order of protection
Donald L. Hoffenkamp, 50, of New Lenox was arrested, the afternoon of Oct. 28, for violating a court order of protection by showing up, allegedly drunk, at his ex-wife’s home on the 600 block of South Gunderson. The arrest marks the sixth time this year Hoffenkamp has been arrested for violating a court order of protection.
Jason H. Voss, 28, of Elmhurst was allegedly observed breaking the taillights of a vehicle on the 200 block of North Marion St., Oct. 29. Police caught up with Voss on the Eisenhower Expressway and arrested him. He was charged with DUI, criminal damage to property and violating a court order of protection. Mr. Voss, who stands well over 6-feet-6, was at the Oak Park police station Monday morning recovering his belongings.
Outside warrant
Alexander A. Norwood, 20, of Bellwood, is back in reception at Stateville Penitentiary after being arrested on a parole violation warrant, the afternoon of Oct. 28, by detectives on the 200 block of South Marion St.
Chaun D. Murphy, 25, of Maywood, was the passenger in a suspicious car on the 400 block of South Taylor Ave., the afternoon of Nov. 1. A name check turned up a Cook County Sheriff’s warrant for obstructing a police officer.
Theft
Someone entered a resident’s room at the Oak Park Arms Senior Center, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. between Sept. 16 and Nov. 2, and stole a briefcase containing $5,600.
St. Edmund Church, which suffered the loss of $4,000 worth of copper gutter the previous week, had another $1,900 in copper gutter and downspouts stolen last week.
Nivea I. Coulter, 27, of Chicago, was arrested on the 5300 block of West Iowa St., the afternoon of Oct. 30, after she allegedly fled following a retail theft at the Walgreens, 916 Madison St.
Andre D. Cannon, 37, of the 900 block of Washington Blvd., was arrested, the afternoon of Oct. 29, for his alleged theft of items from three storage lockers in the building he is living in.
The afternoon of Oct. 30, a man was observed concealing approximately $100 worth of meat in his jacket inside the Jewel, 7036 Roosevelt Rd. When an employee attempted to stop him, the man took a swing at him and fled.
A Berwyn man’s 2005 Dodge pickup truck, loaded with tools, was stolen from a garage on the 6400 block of Roosevelt Rd. between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1.
DUI
Grantland E. Owens, 42, of the 1150 block of South Lombard Ave., was reportedly involved in a crash on the 300 block of Fillmore Ave. around 12:45 a.m., Nov. 1. Owens, who allegedly left the scene of the accident, was charged with DUI, no proper insurance and improper lane usage.
Criminal damage to property
Two juveniles, one from Chicago and one from Maywood, were arrested on the Green Line after they smashed a plate glass window at For Your Entertainment, 7235 Lake St.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Oak Park and River Forest police departments from Oct. 26 through Nov. 2. 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
Poor winners?
Apparently not satisfied that the candidate was trailing badly in the polls, uncivic people apparently took to tampering with McCain campaign signs last week.
A man on the 200 block of Ashland reported that his McCain yard sign, which he said cost $120, was slashed overnight, Oct. 31. He told police he was then awakened in the early morning hours by eggs being thrown against his house.
And a woman on the 1400 block of Bonnie Brae, who called police regarding her McCain sign that had been knocked down, was reportedly delighted when told the sign could go “right back up.”