Over 40 cars were burglarized last week. Oak Park police dealt with at least 36 vehicle burglaries throughout the village, including 28 overnight Saturday. Cars victimized were parked both inside and outside, including eight in a secured underground garage. Most suffered broken windows during the crimes.
“They broke into cars on the street, in garages and some in a secured garage,” said Commander Clemet Harbour.
In only one instance was a suspect spotted. Police say that incident was distinct from the others, in that it occurred during the afternoon on 1100 block of Madison.
“Nothing of any size was taken,” said Harbour. “Mostly cash and coins, and small valuable items.”
Harbour said investigators aren’t clear on how entry was made to the locked underground garage, but speculated that thieves may have snuck in as a car entered or exited the facility. He said police are investigating.
Meanwhile, River Forest reported another five vehicle burglaries, May 29-31. CDs and $507 in cash was stolen in one burglary on the 500 block of Jackson Ave.
Aggravated assault arrest
Police responding to a call on the 6700 block of Roosevelt Road, the night of May 30, reportedly observed Kristen M. Castro, 21, of Hoffman Estates yelling at a Berwyn woman while holding a metal steering wheel locking bar in her hands and threatening to hit the woman. Nick Matarazzo, 22, of Bensenville, had allegedly pushed the woman and tried to take her cellphone. A name check then turned up a DuPage County arrest warrant on Matarazzo for failing to appear in court on charges there.
DUI
Chondre E. Morris, 19, of was reportedly found slumped over the steering wheel of a car on the 300 block of South Austin Blvd. around 3 a.m., June 1. Police say Morris failed both field sobriety and breathalyzer tests.
Julia M. Carney, 46, was charged with DUI alcohol/drugs after being stopped for an alleged traffic violation on the 1500 block of Lathrop Ave. around 3:30 a.m., May 27.
Battery
David Brooks, 20, of the 1000 block of Gunderson Ave., was reportedly arguing with another man on the 600 block of Madison St., the afternoon of May 31. When police separated the two and wrote Brooks a citation for disorderly conduct, he allegedly became angry and pushed an officer in the chest.
Tarik Page, 32, was arrested for battery to a police officer and resisting after he pushed a cop during questioning during a theft investigation near North Ave. and Harlem Ave. around 3 a.m., May 31.
Mario D. Amos, 47, of the 7900 block of North Ave., was arrested for domestic battery after he allegedly slapped a woman in the face during an argument the afternoon of May 26.
Guillermo E. Liaguno, 35, was arrested on the 800 block of South Oak Park Ave. around 1 a.m. after allegedly punching a Forest Park man in the nose.
Robbery
A man tried to grab an MP3 player from another man as the two rode on a Green Line train near Ridgeland Ave., the afternoon of June 1. The victim struggled to retain the MP3 player, suffering a cut on his thumb in the process. A second man then punched the victim before both thieves fled the train.
Burglary
After neighbors saw a suspicious man standing in a nearby driveway, the afternoon of May 26, a woman living on the 900 block of Monroe Ave. found muddy footprints in her home leading upstairs.
Theft
Around 10 p.m. May 31, five teens riding on three bikes tried to get three River Forest kids to “trade bikes.” The gang followed the three for several blocks until they rang the doorbell of a home on the 500 block of Keystone Ave.
Three Chicago juveniles were arrested on the 1500 block of Austin Blvd. by Oak Park police, May 31, after the bikes they were on were determined to have been stolen from a garage on the 1100 block of North Harvey Ave.
A River Forest man, who left the door of his house on the 900 block of Jackson Ave. unlocked and ajar, Memorial Day, while he went to watch the parade, came back to find $140 cash missing from his wallet, which he’d left inside his house.
Copper downspout, valued between $300 and $450, was stolen off houses on the 100 block of Jackson Ave. and 900 block of Bonnie Brae. A home on the 900 block of Williams Ave. was damaged in a theft attempt.
Outside warrant
Nabil Sakr, 22, and Thomas E. Knuth, 26, were stopped by River Forest police near Lake St. and Harlem Ave., the afternoon of May 25. Sakr reportedly was wanted on a DuPage County warrant for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, while Knuth was wanted on a warrant for failing to appear in DuPage County on a DUI charge.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Oak Park and River Forest police departments from May 2 to June 1. 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.
-Compiled by Bill Dwyer
