Oak Park patrol officers arrested two men for numerous garage burglaries Sept 10 and a third man on Sept. 12 who was wanted by River Forest police for a January 2008 burglary. Meanwhile, on Monday, Oak Park police issued another public warning for residents to close and secure windows and doors.
A patrol officer who spotted a car in an alley around 4 a.m. Sept. 10 arrested Jose N. Villegas, 20, and Raul Arriaga, 20, both of Cicero after the two were observed in a car in an alley on the 800 block of N. Oak Park Avenue. When the men could not account for numerous items in the car’s back seat, including a snow blower and lawn tools, they were arrested. Some of the items were subsequently connected with garage burglaries on the 700 block of N. Kenilworth and the 900 and 1100 blocks of N. Oak Park Avenue, and a vehicle burglary on the 1000 block of Oak Park Avenue.
River Forest investigators sent blood and cigarette butts recovered from the scene of a January 2008 burglary on the 300 block of Gale to the Illinois State Police crime lab. DNA from that evidence eventually was identified as belonging to Oak Park resident Pianche Guidry-Watkins, 20, of 436 S. Maple. A bulletin was sent out, and the morning of Sept. 12 an Oak Park patrol officer spotted Guidry-Watkins on the 900 block of S. Oak Park Avenue and arrested him. He had a bond hearing Monday morning at the Maybrook courthouse.
In a Sept. 14 Neighborhood Alert, Oak Park police say a burglar attempted to enter three homes in the 300 block of N. Humphrey Avenue and one home in the 600 block of Harvey Avenue between 11:30 p.m. Sunday and early Monday morning.
“This latest pattern is similar to several burglaries that occurred in a different area of the community during the month of July,” the alert stated.
In two instances, residents in the homes heard noises and likely scared off the thief before he could get in.
In two others, the attempt was discovered the next morning when a chair was found under the window of one home and a ladder by the window of another home – items that belonged to the residents and were easily available to the would-be thief.
For tips on preventing burglaries, go to www.oak-park.us/police.
