Smooth-talking burglars steal jewelry from elderly couple
Two men talked their way into the home of an Oak Park couple, age 86 and 84, in the 900 block of Wisconsin Avenue around 4 p.m., Sept. 30. While one distracted the owners by engaging them in conversation, the other removed miscellaneous jewelry from a bedroom. Loss was estimated at $500.
Burglary
- Someone kicked open the front door of a home in the 1000 block of South Harvey Avenue during the day, Oct. 1, and removed a vodka bottle from a table.
- Basement storage lockers of a building in the 400 block of North Austin Boulevard were pried open and ransacked sometime between Sept. 29 and Oct 1. Loss was unknown.
- Someone pushed in the air conditioner of an apartment in the 800 block of South Austin Boulevard during the day, Oct. 2, by standing on a garbage can. Once inside, offenders removed a 47-inch flat-screen television, a laptop, a game system and video games, clothing and duffel bag. The estimated loss was $2,900.
- Someone entered an apartment in the 500 block of South Cuyler Avenue during the day, Oct. 4, by breaking a 2 x 2-foot window and ransacking the bedroom. A cellphone was missing. Loss was estimated at $410.
- Jewelry worth around $10,000 was removed from a residence in the 600 block of North Oak Park Avenue, the evening of Oct. 5. Someone broke into the house by prying open the back door and ransacking the upstairs bedrooms.
School thefts
- Police arrested an Oak Park and River Forest High School student, 17, on Sept. 30, who was found in possession of .2 grams of cannabis and turned him over to his parents.
- An iPod touch worth $300 was reported removed from a gym locker, Sept. 26.
- A cellphone left unattended in the bathroom at OPRF High School around noon, Oct. 2, was removed.
- A 14-year-old male Oak Park juvenile was arrested, Oct. 4, at OPRF and charged with theft after allegedly taking an iPod and gym shoes from a fellow student. He was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center.
- An unattended purse containing an iPhone 4S was removed from OPRF, the evening of Oct. 5. Loss was estimated at $440.
- A wallet was reported removed from the computer lab at Concordia University, the evening of Oct. 3. Loss was unknown.
iPhone snatching arrest
Police arrested a 26-year-old Chicago man who fit the description of an offender who grabbed an iPhone from the hand of a 17-year-old male victim in the 100 block of Lake Street around 9 p.m., Sept. 2. Police found the alleged offender in the 5500 block of West Ohio Street and he was positively identified in a lineup. The phone was not recovered.
Theft
- A café employee at a restaurant in the 100 block of Harrison Street observed a 14-year-old Chicago male juvenile pick up and remove a cellphone from a table and attempt to exit the business with the phone. He was taken into custody, and the boy was processed and turned over to his mother.
- A wallet was removed from an unattended bag at the Oak Park Public Library around 7:30 p.m., Sept. 30.
- Packages were removed from homes in the 900 block of North Humphrey Avenue and the 200 block of South Oak Park Avenue, Oct. 1-2. The boxes were ransacked, but items inside were recovered.
- An unattended iPhone, left in a rear yard in the 700 block of South Ridgeland Avenue, was lifted during the day, Oct. 2.
Meat thief apprehended
River Forest police took a 53-year-old Summit man into custody after he allegedly tried to leave Dominick’s in the 7500 block of West North Avenue with $387 worth of meat products without paying. He was charged with retail theft.
What part of ‘jerk’ don’t you understand?
A 24-year-old Lyons man was arrested around midnight, Oct. 5, after following a 16-year-old girl and her father out of a restaurant in the 400 block of North Harlem Avenue, demanding the girl’s phone number. When the girl refused his advances, he allegedly yelled profanities at her and threatened to beat her. The man was taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault.
DUI hit-and-run driver arrested
Oak Park police arrested a 24-year-old Oak Park man, after he allegedly struck a parked car with his vehicle in the 700 block of Hayes Street around midnight, Sept. 30, and drove away. An officer observed a car with front-end damage, both airbags deployed and the driver with blood running down his face. The driver was taken to West Suburban Hospital where he admitted to striking a parked car and fleeing. He was charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to reduce speed.
Vandalism
A resident saw an unknown male, roughly 12-14 years old, break his front window with a rock and flee in the 1000 block of South Harvey Avenue around 6:30 p.m., Oct. 6.
Garage burglaries
- Police arrested two men after residents saw them peering into garages in the 900 block of North Euclid Avenue around 7 p.m., Oct. 4. The subjects were found riding bicycles in the 300 block of Augusta Boulevard. One had been stolen from a garage in the 900 block of Euclid and the other from a yard in the 900 block of North Linden Avenue. Both Chicago men, age 18, were charged with burglary and theft.
- A bike removed from a locked garage in the 500 block of North Ridgeland Avenue, overnight Oct. 2, was recovered a block away in the 400 block. Burglars entered by prying open the side service door.
Unlocked garages hit
Two cars were ransacked in an unlocked garage overnight in the 300 block of South Humphrey Avenue and a car was ransacked in an unlocked garage in the 1200 block of Edmer, overnight Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Someone took a bike from an unlocked garage in the 700 block of South Harvey Avenue, Sept. 29-30. On the same block, three bikes were removed from an unlocked garage, Oct. 3-4. From an unlocked garage in the 500 block of North Elmwood Avenue a $1,500 racing bike was removed during the day, Oct. 4. Another bike was removed from an open garage in the 600 block of South Elmwood Avenue, Oct. 5, during the day. Two bikes were taken from an unlocked garage in the 900 block of North Linden Avenue, Oct. 3-6. A Toshiba laptop computer, Apple iPad Gucci backpack and clothing worth $1,500 were removed from an unlocked Mercedes parked in an unlocked garage in the 600 block of South Humphrey Avenue, overnight Oct. 5-6.
Car burglaries
- Someone smashed the window of a 2000 Chrysler van parked in the 900 block of South Humphrey, overnight Sept. 29-30, and removed 10 coats and 16 leather wallets. Estimated loss was $4,570.
- A purse containing a money order for $895 and $130 cash was taken from an unlocked car parked in the 100 block of South Harvey, overnight Oct. 1. Also removed was a Garmin GPS unit. Estimated loss was $1,095.
- Unlocked vehicles were burglarized in the 200 block of Washington Boulevard, overnight Sept. 30-Oct. 1; from the 100 block of South Austin Boulevard, overnight Oct. 1-2; in the 600 block of South Maple Avenue and the 800 block of South Taylor Avenue, overnight Oct. 3-4; in the 100 block of North Taylor Avenue, Oct. 5; and from the Men’s Wearhouse in River Forest Town Center around midnight, Oct. 1.
- A 1999 black Honda CR-V was reported removed from behind the 1200 block of Rossell Street, overnight Oct. 3-4. It was recovered on Oct. 6 in Chicago and returned to the owner.
- A 2006 tan Cadillac CTS was removed from in front of a residence in the first block of Superior Street sometime between Sept. 28 and Oct. 1. Estimated loss was $20,000.
Bike thefts
- Locked bicycles were removed from the 400 block of South Ridgeland Avenue, overnight Sept. 29-30, and in the 1000 block of North Boulevard during the day, Oct. 5.
- Unsecured bikes were removed from a stairwell in the 100 block of Washington Boulevard, Sept. 30, from a rear yard in the 1000 block of North Linden Avenue between Oct. 1-4 and from the 100 block of South Ridgeland Oct. 2.
These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports filed Sept. 30-Oct. 6 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
—Compiled by Jean Lotus
