Oak Park fire fighters got an early start to the week after they were called into action past midnight on Monday to put out two separate fires. Both are considered to be acts of arson, according to the Oak Park Police Department.
At 12:51 a.m., Monday, fire fighters arrived on the 800 block of Columbian Avenue, where they extinguished a yard waste fire that had been set on a resident’s property. Prior to the fire department’s arrival, a witness saw two men laughing and running through the rear alley before noticing the flames, according to police. A wooden fence was damaged by the blaze.
While putting out that fire, fire fighters saw a second active compost fire in the rear of the 800 block of North East Avenue at 1:04 a.m. That fire was also extinguished, but a wooden fence, sports backstop netting and rubber sports mats sustained damage. The total damage caused by the two fires was unknown at the time of reporting.
Aggravated robbery
- An Oak Park juvenile was robbed and beaten up by three men while he was riding his bicycle to school at 11:22 a.m., April 3, in the 300 block of Cuyler Avenue. The three men, riding in a gray sedan, followed the boy then cut in front of him. When the boy stopped his bicycle, the three men got out of the car and began hitting him in the face and on his body. One of the men said he was carrying a gun. The three men took the boy’s black Samsung cell phone, white Apple AirPods and his backpack, which contained a Chromebook laptop, a bottle of cologne and school supplies. The estimated loss is $1,300.
Burglary
- A pair of boots and sunglasses were removed from an unlocked 2018 Toyota Prius parked in the 900 block of North Boulevard between 2 p.m., April 5, and 9 a.m., April 8. The estimated loss is $500.
Motor vehicle theft
- A 2018 Kia Optima was stolen in the first block of Superior Street at about 10:15 p.m., April 8. Chicago police recovered the vehicle at 3:25 a.m., April 10, in the 1600 block of South Harding Avenue, Chicago.
- A home surveillance camera captured two men shattering the rear passenger window of a 2017 Kia Optima, which one of the men then drove off in, at 3 p.m., April 9, in the 500 block of South Lyman Avenue. The other man drove off in the black sedan that he and the other offender drove up in. The estimated loss is $13,000.
- A 2017 Hyundai Elantra was taken between 9:30 a.m., April 4, and 6:26 a.m., April 5, in the 400 block of South Taylor Avenue. Palatine police recovered the vehicle at 2:50 p.m., April 5, in the 1400 block of East Wyndham Circle in Palatine.
- A 2017 Hyundai Elantra was taken between 12 p.m., April 4, and 6:40 a.m., April 5, in the 1000 block of Washington Boulevard. North Chicago police recovered the vehicle at 11:58 a.m., April 5, in the 1400 block of Greenfield Avenue in North Chicago.
- A 2020 Dodge Charger parked in the 900 block of South Humphrey Avenue was taken between 9:30 p.m., April 3, and 4:30 p.m., April 4.
Attempted motor vehicle theft
- A witness saw two men break the rear driver’s side window of a Hyundai Sonata, enter the vehicle and tamper with the vehicle’s fuse box at 6:51 p.m., April 9, in the first block of Washington Boulevard.
- Someone broke the rear passenger’s side window of a 2022 Hyundai Kona then broke the vehicle’s steering column and pulled out the ignition between 3 p.m. and 3:55 p.m., April 9, in the 200 block of South Austin Boulevard. The estimated damage is $1,340.
- Someone shattered the passenger’s side window of a 2018 Hyundai Sonata then peeled the vehicle’s steering column at about 10 p.m., April 6, in the 400 block of North Taylor Avenue.
Theft
- The catalytic converter was cut from a 2009 Toyota Sienna parked in the 800 block of South Cuyler Avenue between 5:30 p.m., April 7, and 10 a.m., April 8.
- The driver’s side mirror was taken off of a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu parked in the 100 block of Garfield Street between 9:30 p.m., April 5, and 6:50 a.m., April 6.
- A two-carat platinum tennis bracelet was taken from an Oak Park resident’s home in the 1100 block of Westgate Street between 8 a.m., Jan. 1, and 8 a.m., March 10.
Criminal property damage
- Someone shattered the front driver’s side window of a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic parked in the 900 block of Thomas Street between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., April 7.
These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department reports dated April 4-10 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 Stacey Sheridan