Thieves kicked in a boarded-up concession stand on the River Forest Tennis Club grounds between 4 and 6 a.m. June 13. The interior was ransacked and a cash register was stolen, while a garbage bag of Gatorade drinks was abandoned outside. The thieves, who left two different shoe prints on the counter as they entered, pushed the register under a chain-link fence on the north side of the property, which was bent to allow passage.
“It basically looked like a total mess,” club spokesman Phil Meyer said of the stand interior. The lock has been replaced, Meyer said. There wasn’t any other damage.
Residential burglary
The rear window of a residence on the first block of Harrison was broken during the day June 9; a 9mm handgun, a 35-inch television set and a GPS device were stolen. Total loss was $2,800.
The rear door of a residence on the 700 block of N. Taylor was forced open between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. June 9; a laptop and bottle of prescription painkillers were stolen.
Thieves entered a residence on the 800 block of S. Humphrey through a kitchen window during the day June 13. Three television sets, an iPod, a laptop computer and $300 in coins were stolen. Total loss was an estimated $6,500.
Also on June 13, a window air conditioner on an apartment on the 400 block of Harrison was pushed in and the apartment was ransacked. The loss was not known.
Burglary to garage, vehicle
The side door of a garage on the 200 block of Superior was pried open overnight June 10 and tools valued at $1,200 were stolen.
A lawnmower was stolen from a garage on the 800 block of N. Humphrey June 10.
Overnight June 9 about $2 in change was taken from a car in a garage on the 700 block of N. Oak Park Avenue.
The side window of a 2009 Toyota was smashed the night of June 9 and a dashboard GPS device was stolen.
Overnight June 8, $20 cash was stolen from an unlocked car on the first block of LeMoyne Parkway.
The afternoon of June 9, a router machine and sump pump, valued in total at $5,700, were stolen from an unlocked truck on the 900 block of N. Humphrey.
DUI
Javier Martinez, 27, of Chicago, was stopped for an alleged traffic violation on the 6000 block of North Avenue just after 1 a.m. June 13. Police say Martinez smelled strongly of alcohol and failed several field sobriety tests. He was charged with aggravated DUI.
An hour later, Jerome Johnson, 34, of Chicago was allegedly found asleep behind the wheel of his car in the middle of the 300 block of Washington, with his radio playing loudly. Police say they were able to rouse Johnson, who smelled strongly of alcohol, after about a minute, and that he failed several field sobriety tests.
Shortly after 3 a.m., Adrian A. Taylor, 28, of Glen Ellyn, was allegedly observed parked in a No Parking zone, asleep at the wheel, with the engine running. She reportedly failed several field sobriety tests.
Criminal defacement to property
Graffiti vandalism was reported the night of June 10 on about a dozen properties on the 600 blocks of S. Clarence, East and Gunderson. “Derogatory” comments were printed in silver spray paint on numerous fences, garages and traffic signs in the area. Witnesses report seeing four teenagers in the vicinity between 10:15 and 10:45 p.m.
Battery
James A. Delgallo, 23, of Berwyn turned himself into Oak Park police the afternoon of June 12 on an arrest warrant for a battery allegedly committed April 9 on the 800 block of Erie.
Edwin L. Harrow, 56, of 1041 Westmore St., Lombard, turned himself in to police the morning of June 8 in relation to an arrest warrant for domestic battery to his daughter that occurred the previous day on the 400 block of N. Oak Park Avenue.
Theft
Benjamin A. Thompson, 31, of St. Louis, was identified the afternoon of June 13 as the person who fled a vehicle accident at Lexington and Oak Park Avenue. The truck Thompson was driving was reported stolen out of Elgin; his license was revoked.
Brandon Williamson, 18, of 108 S. Harvey, was charged with retail theft and assault the afternoon of June 9. Dominick’s security personnel say they observed Williamson place a bottle of vodka up his sleeve and leave the store. When a guard attempted to stop him, Williamson allegedly swung at him, causing the bottle to fall from his sleeve and smash on the ground. Street Crimes officers arrested Williamson a short time later on the 100 block of S. Taylor, where he was hiding in bushes.
A Chicago boy was charged with retail theft the afternoon of June 8, after he was observed concealing a bottle of vodka in his pants in Dominick’s, at 259 Lake.
Christine Guerrero, 33, of Chicago was arrested on the 1100 block of Ontario after being identified as the woman who stole assorted cosmetics from CVS, 6748 Roosevelt, and pushed the manager when he confronted her. Besides being charged with retail theft and battery, Guerrero was found to be wanted on a Lake County arrest warrant for retail theft.
Fletcher Clinton, 40, also known as Timothy Phillips, of Chicago Heights, was paroled June 4 from his latest prison sentence, for drugs possession. The afternoon of June 10, police say, Clinton was spotted lugging three heavy bags along Madison. He was stopped, and an investigation allegedly determined the bag’s contents were stolen from the nearby Jewel Osco. A name check also determined he was wanted on a Chicago bond violation on a fraud charge.
With the steep drop in the price for copper scrap, theft of the metal has been almost non-existent the past year. But sometime between June 5 and June 10, an estimated $10,000 in copper gutters was stolen from a house under renovation on the 900 block of N. Kenilworth.
Bikes were stolen last week on the 1200 block of Forest, first block of Lake, 800 block of N. Euclid, 900 block of Washington, 700 block of N. Austin and 200 block of Maple.
Outside warrant
James B. Young, 40, of Broadview, was stopped on the 100 block of Lake after matching the description of a retail theft suspect. A name check turned up three Champaign County arrest warrants for failure to provide child support, and a Cook County warrant for drug possession.
Cynthia Soto, 19, of Berwyn, was arrested on a DuPage County warrant for retail theft after being stopped by officers on the 2200 block of S. Harlem in relation to another investigation.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Oak Park and River Forest police departments from June 8 to June 15. 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.
-Bill Dwyer
