Lincoln School goes on lockdown during burglar chase
Lincoln Elementary School administrators were asked by the Oak Park Police Department to keep children inside last Friday, March 20, for about 20 minutes, due to their pursuit of nearby burglary suspects.
Principal Catherine Hamilton sent an email to parents that day, informing them that at about 1 p.m., police informed the school that they were in pursuit of the suspects.
“The children and teachers who were on the playground were immediately brought back into the building,” Hamilton said in the email. “At that time we suspended all outdoor recess activities.”
Hamilton said police informed her at 1:21 p.m. that they had taken the suspects into custody and cleared the school to resume normal activities, according to the email.
DUI/Endangering the life of a child
A 38-year-old Elmwood Park woman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, endangering the life of a child and multiple traffic violations on March 7 at 11:33 p.m. in the area of Oak and Lathrop avenues in River Forest. She was pulled over after police witnessed her driving without her lights on. She was taken into custody after failing a field sobriety test. She was transporting a minor at the time of the incident.
Retail theft arrest
A 49-year-old Chicago man was arrested at 4:02 p.m. on March 8 at the River Forest Whole Foods at 7245 W. Lake St. and charged with misdemeanor theft. The man was stopped by the store’s security for attempting to steal $40 worth of crab legs. He fled and tried to make his getaway in a maroon Nissan Maxima, but he was pulled over by police and taken into custody. The crab legs were recovered, police report. Further investigation revealed that the man also had taken crab legs from Jewel Foods in River Forest.
Retail theft report
River Forest police are in search of a suspect who stole three bottles of cologne from Ulta, 7231 W. Lake St., on March 13 at 3:04 p.m. The offender was observed removing security sensors from the cologne and attempting to return the items for cash. The offender decided not to ask for the refund at the last minute and left the store with the merchandise in an unknown direction. The loss was valued at $140.
Theft from a motor vehicle
An unknown person used a cutting tool to remove a catalytic converter and upstream and downstream CO2 sensors from a 2006 grey Honda CR-V. The incident occurred sometime between March 13 and 16 on the 500 block of Harrison Street. The loss was estimated at $1,483.
A 1998 Ford Econoline van was burglarized on the first block of Berkshire Street on March 18 between the hours of 6 and 7 p.m. The offender removed a blue Bosch Sawzall, a yellow and black Bosch drill, a hammer, a wrench and a white utility bucket containing more tools. The loss is estimated at $550.
Arson
A parking meter on the first block of South Boulevard was burned by unknown means on March 16. The incident was discovered by police at 9:07 p.m. Estimated cost of the damage is unknown.
Aggravated vehicular hijacking
A Country Club Hills resident was entering his blue-gray 2006 Dodge Charger on the 500 block of North Harvey Avenue at 2:35 p.m. on March 17, when a man with a thin build and wearing “very dirty” dark clothing with a hood approached him from behind and stuck a hard object in his back. The offender also displayed a dark blue revolver near the victim’s face and said, “Break yourself.” The victim handed over a gold diamond cross pendant necklace, a gold diamond bracelet, three gold diamond rings and a black leather wallet. The offender then stole the Dodge Charger, which contained luggage, suits, leather jackets and a pair of boots. The loss was estimated at $62,830.
Theft
An unknown man stole two boxes of Kit Kat candy bars from the Lake Theater concession stand on the 1000 block of Lake Street between noon and 12:05 p.m. on March 17. The employees retrieved one box of candy from the man who had settled in at one of the theaters to watch a movie, but he left the scene with the other box. The loss is estimated at $42.
These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports filed March 2-8 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 Timothy Inklebarger
