Oak Park police arrested four adults and three juveniles for theft between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. last Thursday. All four adults were charged with retail theft, the juveniles for package theft.
“I don’t think it’s occurring more,” said Det. Cmdr. Len Jorgensen. “I think shop owners are being more vigilant.”
The morning of Aug. 13 Aaron C. Topps of 8932 S. Cornell, Chicago was allegedly spotted leaving a duffel bag in a garbage can and enter the CVS Pharmacy, 345 Madison St. After allegedly leaving the store with unpurchased merchandise, Topps was arrested after a brief foot chase and charged with felony retail theft, because of prior convictions.
Around 2 p.m., Carlton Davis, 50, of 5956 W. Washington, Chicago allegedly walked out of the Jewel store, 438 Madison St., with two bottles of laundry detergent.
Quincy L. Smith, 38, of 5319 W. Washington, Chicago and Aaron D. Triplett, 22, of 645 N. Lorel, Chicago were arrested 75 minutes apart at the Dominick’s store, 259 Lake St. the evening of Aug. 13. Police say both men walked out of the store with two bottles of vodka in their back pockets, without paying.
Cassandra L. Moore, 45, of 1043 N. Laramie, Chicago was arrested on the 1100 block of North Boulevard the afternoon of Aug. 14 after being identified as the person who allegedly stole $236 in books from the Border’s store, 1144 Lake St.
Janet C. Rynne, 47, of 839 Lyman was arrested the afternoon of Aug. 16 after police allegedly found her in possession of merchandise stolen from the Walgreens store, 6412 Roosevelt Rd..
Robbery
The afternoon of Aug. 15 a Chicago woman was approached by a man in the Dominick’s parking lot, 259 Lake St. He yanked her necklace off, grabbed the ring hanging on it, threw the necklace down and ran off.
Theft
Thieves broke several locks and gained entry to three gas pumps at the BP Amoco station, 201 Madison St. overnight Aug. 11. After prying open the cut off switches, they pumped a total of 1,593 gallons of fuel, valued at $4,776.
Tyrone Bailey, 18, of 1453 Circle Ave., Forest Park, was arrested around 5 a.m. Aug. 11 after he was allegedly observed by a police officer taking a bike from a garage on the 100 block of N. Scoville Ave.
A young boy was stopped by River Forest police on Lake near Harlem the afternoon of Aug. 12. The boy had stolen the bike from a girl on the 300 block of Keystone Ave.
Copper has started disappearing again after nearly a year’s absence from police logs. Sections of gutter and downspout up to 20 feet long were stolen last week in River Forest, on the 1100 block of Thatcher, 1100 block of Ashland and the 900 block of Lathrop. In Oak Park a 15-foot section of copper downspout was ripped off a garage on the 800 block of N. Elmwood
Vehicle, garage burglary
As vehicle burglaries continue to plague Oak Park, a citizen’s late night phone call resulted in the arrest of two car burglars Monday. Police responding to a call of a car burglary on the 400 block of S. Kenilworth arrested 18 year old Xavier Duncan and a 16-year old Chicago boy around 2:30 a.m. Aug. 17. Detective Cmdr. Len Jorgensen said Duncan, of 5525 W. Jackson, has previous criminal history, and that the 16-year old was arrested previously by Oak Park police several weeks ago. “This is another reason why people need to be vigilant and call police,” said Jorgensen.
Overnight Aug. 11, the side window of a car on the 900 block of Ontario St. was broken and a GPS device stolen, and a GPS device and stereo/CD player face plate were stolen from a car on the 300 block of North Boulevard.
The morning of Aug. 15 thieves broke the side window of a car on the 1100 block of Lake St. and stole a GPS device mounted on the windshield.
Other cars were burglarized on the 1100 block of Pleasant, 400 block of S. Euclid, 1000 block of S. Humphrey, the 300 block of Washington, the 100 block of S. Grove, 300 block of S. Home, 100 block of Washington, 200 block of South Boulevard, 800 block of Highland and 400 block of S. Scoville.
Thieves entered an unlocked garage on the 200 block of S. Kenilworth Ave. overnight Aug. 10, broke the side window of a car and stole power tools, as well as a bike.
Thieves entered another unlocked garage on the 1100 block of S. Wenonah, entered a car, stole an iPod and digital camera, and two bikes valued at over $1,000.
Overnight Aug. 11 thieves broke into a garage on the 100 block of S. Grove Ave. and ransacked three parked cars, taking all of $4 in coins.
Residential, business burglary
Two homes were burglarized during the day Aug. 13. A 52-inch television, assorted electronic games and $100 cash was taken through an unlocked rear door on the 900 block of Garfield. Thieves pushed aside a window air conditioner on the 400 block of S. Scoville Ave. and stole a laptop computer and jewelry valued at $2,000.
A resident on the 600 block of N. Taylor Ave. heard a noise at the rear of her home the afternoon Aug. 12 and went to investigate. She was confronted by a man who was just entering her kitchen. She pushed the intruder out of the doorway, and ran back upstairs as the man left.
A laptop computer was stolen from an apartment on the 1500 block of William during the day Aug. 16.
Three office suites inside a building at 1010 Lake were burglarized overnight Aug. 13. Security video shows two men exiting the rear of the building. One suite was ransacked, with an undetermined loss. $2,610 in equipment was stolen from a second suite, and a $1,200 digital camera was stolen from a third.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Oak Park and River Forest police departments from Aug. 10 to Aug 17. 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
