Woman tackles burglar discovered in home
After discovering a burglar in her apartment in the 4100 block of N. Marine Dr., a woman tackled him to keep her possessions. At 3:35 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, the 27-year-old woman came out of her bathroom to find the offender standing in the kitchen holding her camera. He fled out the rear door with her in pursuit. She caught him in the stairwell and a battle ensued, with both tumbling down the steep concrete stairs. The struggle continued at the bottom, with both receiving injuries. The offender fled; the victim recovered the camera on the stairs and returned to the apartment to call 911.
Reporting officers determined that the offender had entered through an unlocked rear door. They monitored a flash call of a suspicious man fitting the offender’s description a short distance away, cowering in the lobby of a building in the 700 block of W. Bittersweet Pl. The police transported the victim to the Bittersweet location, where she positively identified the subject as the offender. Fred Davis, 58, of the 4500 block of N. Sheridan Rd., was placed in custody. The victim’s injuries were photographed and then treated (bloody nose, abrasion to elbow, scratched eye, other scratches to neck and body). The camera was placed in inventory.
18th and 23rd Districts
Computer ripped off
A burglar snagged a Dell laptop ($2,310) from an apartment in the 300 block of W. Diversey Ave. May 17. Nothing else was taken.
Jewelry theft
Seven rings — one with a diamond — were stolen in a burglary in the 300 block of W. Oakdale May 16-17. Lots of other jewelry was left behind. The victim may have left the front door unlocked.
Kicked in door
A burglar struck an apartment in the 800 block of W. Lawrence Ave. on May 19. He kicked in the back door, ransacked the place, and took various pieces of jewelry, leaving electronic equipment behind.
Brief time frame
During a two-hour absence of the residents, an apartment in the 600 block of W. Barry Ave. was burglarized of expensive jewelry. Between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. May 19, someone broke in and took about 125 DVDs, a ruby and diamond ring ($1,000), four gold rings ($225), a gold, diamond, emerald ring ($700), gold anklets ($300) and a black Samsonite travel bag. An evidence technician was summoned.
No signs of force
Jewelry and electronics were the loot for a burglar in the 400 block of W. Wrightwood Ave. May 20. Taken were two laptops ($3,200), a video camera ($800), an iPod ($350), six rings ($600), five bracelets ($1,105), three watches ($1075), two chains ($355), earrings ($470) and a jewelry box ($70). There were no signs of forced entry.
Three at once
Three adjoining apartments in the 600 block of W. Cornelia Ave. were forced open on May 23. The first was nearly empty because the occupants were moving out; only $4 in quarters was stolen. The second apartment was ransacked. The details of the third apartment are not available.
Through window
An unlocked window permitted access to a burglar in the 4900 block of N. Hoyne Ave. May 24. A resident returned to find two pillowcases missing from the bed, presumably used to carry off the missing PlayStation, 10 PS2 games, 3 PS2 memory chips, 55 DVDs and two Gucci watches. The resident began to clean up the area before police were contacted, so no evidence technician was requested because the area was contaminated.
Public indecency
Police responded to a call of two people having sex on park property at 2:01 p.m. Friday, May 20. Responding officers observed a woman, 47, and a man, 56, having sex in Clarendon Park, 4409 N. Clarendon Ave., and took both into custody.
More indecency at same park
A 6:20 p.m. Monday, May 23, in Clarendon Park, 4409 N. Clarendon Ave., a 41-year old man sat next to a baseball diamond where people were playing softball and exposed himself for over 10 minutes despite being told to stop. Security approached him and held him until police arrived.
19th and 20th Districts
Case of cash
A suitcase of cash and a DVD player vanished from an apartment in the 2400 block of W. Balmoral Ave. on May 25. New residents were moving into the apartment, coming and going all day. At one point they arrived to find the door unlocked and the items missing. In the suitcase, which was stolen from a closet, was $2,800. Police have a description of a subject.
Three bicycles
Three mountain bikes were ripped off from a storage shed in the basement of an apartment building in the 4800 block of N. Winthrop Ave. Someone pried the shed open May 20-25 and took a 26" Schwinn 21-speed silver/blue mountain bike ($200), a 22" red Expedition Elite ($450), and a red 16" Mongoose ($160).
Loss of Cubs tix
A thief made off with 20 Cubs tickets on Monday, May 23, between 1 and 3:30 p.m. The victim parked a 2003 Ford Taurus in the 2300 block of Lawrence Ave. to shop in the area. Someone ransacked the vehicle, taking 20 tickets. Police have dates and seat numbers of the stolen goods.
Team tactics
At 10:08 p.m. May 24, witnesses observed a burglary at Gethsemane Gardens, 5825 N. Clark St., and contacted police. They saw three men pull open a portion of fencing so that one offender could squeeze through. Moments later this offender began passing wooden pallets over the fence to the other men, who loaded them into a white Chevy van. Police took the men into custody as they returned to the van after taking 18 wooden pallets, valued at $2 to $5 each.
Car break-in
A purse inside a locked car was the target of a thief in the 1500 block of W. Summerdale Ave. on May 25, between 3:15 and 3:45 p.m. A married couple from Iowa had parked the car and left the purse on the front passenger seat. They returned to find the car window broken and the purse gone. Also lost were $346, IDs and credit cards.
Aggravated domestic battery
At 7:59 p.m. May 23, police responded to a call of a person with a knife on the sidewalk of the 5400 block of N. Broadway. They found a man covered in blood and a woman pulling on his jacket. Police took the woman into custody and called for an ambulance for her boyfriend, who was stabbed in the left shoulder; he was taken to Illinois Masonic, treated and admitted. During processing, the woman claimed to be acting in self-defense. Both parties were intoxicated. The woman claimed to not remember where she threw the knife after stabbing the victim.
Caught
A man was caught after he robbed a private detective at 6:05 p.m. May 21. The victim was sitting in a car at the Lincoln and Peterson red light when the offender approached and washed the window. He then leaned into the car and demanded a quarter. When the victim refused, the offender reached into the vehicle and grabbed the victim’s cell phone. At this point, the offender began to walk away but the detective challenged him, so the offender threw the cell phone back at the victim and boarded a bus eastbound on Peterson Ave. Responding officers observed the bus and curbed it; the offender was positively identified and transported to 20th District for processing.
Not how it's supposed to be
According to police reports, an incident of sex in a parking lot came to an abrupt end. In the 5800 block of N. Clark St., a man and a woman were having sex in his vehicle at 4:50 a.m. Saturday, May 21, and she was leaning against the car door. The offender opened the door and she fell out, and he then began to drive off. She ran after the vehicle, but it exited the parking lot and took off. In the vehicle were her purse with credit cards and money, as well as her blue jeans, underwear and shoes. The woman could not provide police with the driver’s complete name.
Laptop left, lost
Someone left a laptop on the backseat of a ’98 BMW parked in the 5400 block of N. Winthrop Ave. May 15-20. He returned to find the car window broken and the laptop gone.
Armed robbery
Chicago Pizza, 5062 N. Sheridan Rd., was robbed at 11:11 p.m. May 20. A black man, 21, walked into the business and then went through an open door to behind the counter where the owner was sitting. He pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded his money. The victim opened the cash register and the offender took the money visible plus the money under the drawer (a total of $500). He also took the cash from the victim’s pocket ($900).
At this time the victim grabbed the gun and struggled with the offender. The offender pushed the owner away, jumped the counter and ran to the front door. Here he turned and fired one shot at the victim, which missed him but went through the wall into the kitchen and lodged in a gyros machine. Two witnesses heard the struggle and saw the gun; they ran out the back door to call police. The victim was treated for cuts on his hands. Police inventoried a videotape plus the bullet, and canvassed the area.
Jumped him
Two teens jumped a 13-year-old boy in the 5800 block of N. Ridge Ave. on Friday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. They took his cell phone.
Cold hard cash
According to police reports, an unknown person removed a chicken and $1,200 cash from a freezer in an apartment in the 5700 block of N. Winthrop Ave. May 17-18. The money was wrapped within the chicken bag. The victim suspects a painter who entered the apartment that day to spackle, and who has not been seen since.
Big theft, small theft
Someone stole five DVDs then drove off in a stolen 2000 Kia at 8:55 p.m. May 22. The offender entered Hollywood Video, 4883 N. Broadway, took the goods and left without paying. Witnesses got the license number, but it comes back from a computer check as "stolen."
Candy toss
Unknown offenders gained access to Budlong School, 2701 W. Foster Ave., at 8 p.m. May 22 and threw candy out the window. The value was $15. |
