19th and 20th Districts
Garage burglary
During the night of Sept. 22-23, someone ripped off the screens of two garage windows that face into a backyard in the 3500 block of N. Paulina St. The offender entered through a window, rifled through the contents of two vehicles, and moved various items in the garage. He took a Paramount 18” mountain bike ($1,000), army green in color, and exited via the side door. An evidence technician took photos and dusted for prints.
Cruising burglars
A white van carried a burglary team of four Hispanics along the alleys and street of the 2400 block of W. Wilson Ave. at 11:52 a.m. Friday, Sept. 23. One resident was working in his backyard, and had left his rear door open.
Two members of the team entered via this door, went into the rear bedroom, opened a closet and removed a large wooden box. They placed it on the bed and attempted to open it with a metal file, which broke and was discarded on the floor.
The burglars then exited via the front door — carrying the box — and got into the van, which continued west on Wilson Ave. A witness alerted police, who sent a flash message in search of the van.
In the box was $3,000 cash, a checkbook and bank book, deeds to two buildings, and a will.
Favorite of burglars
A burglar got a laptop off the living room table by entering via a rear porch window of an apartment in the 2400 block of N. Racine, then exiting through the rear door. The crime occurred between 6:30 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23.
Rap and snatch
After drinking, a resident of the 900 block of W. Montana St. spent some time “rapping” with three male juveniles on his front porch, then left the premises at 12:10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. He returned 30 minutes later to find his rear door ajar and his laptop gone.
Broken glass
In the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 24, someone broke the window of a basement apartment in the 1200 block of W. Newport Ave. Taken was a laptop ($2,000), 45 CDs ($600), and a red and white book bag ($60). The crime scene was contaminated so police did not summon an evidence technician.
Heavy loot
Around 3 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, a burglar entered the unlocked window of a bedroom in the 3600 block of N. Ashland Ave. He stole one glass 5-gallon water jug that contained not water but $1,200 in change.
Construction site burglary
Workers arrived at a construction site in the 2700 block of N. Bosworth Ave. at 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, to discover that a burglar had kicked in a basement door and opened a first floor door. The criminal took tools used for marble setting: a wet saw ($1,800), a heavy duty drill ($120), a grinder ($110), two wet drill bits ($220), and various other tools ($150).
Garage burglary
In the 2700 block of N. Southport Ave., someone forced open a garage side door Tuesday, Sept. 20. Taken was a laptop ($1,900), a 300-piece Craftsman tool set ($350), a Mikita cordless drill ($150), and a woman’s blue and silver mountain bike ($350).
Not seeking coffee
The Grind, 4613 N. Lincoln Ave., was burglarized overnight Sept. 24-25. The front door’s plexiglas window was pushed in and a cash register with $120 cash was stolen.
Vandalism
Someone shattered the front door window of Mary’s Unisex barbershop, 4540 N. Western Ave, at 7:11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.
Fraud
A resident of Evanston discovered that someone had illegally used his ATM card in the 2400 block of N. Clark St. on Monday, Sept. 19. He suffered a loss of $6,500.
Counterfeit at Costco
To pay for her goods at Costco, 2746 N. Clybourn Ave., a woman used checks in the amount of $191.83 and $200. The National Republic Bank of Chicago returned the checks as counterfeit.
Stolen card
A stolen credit card was used for several purchases, totaling $468, Sept. 15-16. The victim, of the 1000 block of W. Belmont Ave., does not know how the thief came to acquire the card.
Big loss
Even though the owner has always had the debit card in her possession, someone managed to use the card or its number to purchase various products, services and gasoline over a three-week period. The victim, a Lake View resident, had $4,000 withdrawn from her account. She discovered the fraud on Sept. 8 and canceled the account.
Forgeries
Someone cashed five forged checks at TCF Bank, 3402 N. Western Ave., over a period of three weeks. The victim had $1,350 withdrawn from his account.
Left behind
A man accidentally left his ATM card in the ATM machine, 3730 N. Southport Ave., on Sept. 24. Someone found it and used it to withdraw $400.
Accident
At 10:05 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, a 56-year-old woman stood behind her parked car in the 1500 block of W. Cornelia Ave. A taxi drove by and struck a 4-inch water hose that was lying in the street. The force of the vehicle made the hose strike the victim in the back of the legs, causing her to fall to the ground and bruise her tailbone and lower back. She was transported to St. Joseph Hospital. The hose belongs to G+L Contractors.
18th and 23rd Districts
12 men in 14 days
Due to numerous CAPS complaints of lewd sexual activity, police officers have conducted aggressive patrols of the 4400 block of N. Simmonds Drive, which is the Bird Sanctuary located at Montrose Ave. and the lakefront.
At 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, a man was arrested for masturbating. At 6:25 p.m. the same day, another man was arrested for the same offense.
At 5:25 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, police observed a pair of men facing each other and masturbating, and arrested both. At 9:45 p.m. that night, another man was arrested for the same offense.
At 5:25 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, two men engaged in oral sex were placed in custody and transported to the 23rd District.
At 6:25 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, one man was arrested for
masturbating.
At 7:10 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, another incident of masturbation resulted in an arrest.
At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, three men engaged in mutual masturbation were arrested.
Those arrested were residents of Edgewater, Uptown, the South Side, Rogers Park, the West Side, Kenosha, WI, Lake View, North Center and Lincoln Square.
Under age
A 17-year-old boy from Winnetka attempted to use someone else’s ID in order to purchase alcohol at the Riviera theater, 4650 N. Broadway, at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28. The security officer attempted to eject him; he broke free and tried to flee into the crowd. He was detained by security and turned over to arresting officers.
Criminal damage to vehicle
In the 3400 block of N. Halsted St., a salesman observed five male offenders standing around his vehicle at 1:19 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. Two of the offenders began jumping up and down on the vehicle, a silver 2005 Mitsubishi. One swung a purse at the victim, striking him in the back of the head. When the victim called police, all the offenders fled westbound on Roscoe St. into alleys and gangways.
Police located one offender, age 18, in a gangway of the 800 block of W. Buckingham Place; another, age 29, was observed running into a vacant building in the 800 block of W. Aldine Ave. and he was apprehended. Both were positively identified.
Public peace violation
At 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, police reported to a building in the 4700 block of N. Sheridan Rd. in response to a 911 call that a woman had been stabbed there. The report proved to be false. A witness pointed out who had placed the call; the offender said he made the call because his girlfriend, who lives at that address, had thrown him out earlier that day. The offender also admitted making two prior false reports. He was charged with
disorderly conduct.
Spontaeous fire
A fire occurred in the 4400 block of N. Dover St. at 11:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19. The building is undergoing a condo conversion. Apparently sawdust from floor sanding spontaneously ignited. The Fire Department extinguished the blaze promptly.
Arson
At 5:18 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, a construction site in the 4700 block of N. Malden St. was the scene of arson. Police responded to a call of fire in the alley, and found a burning yellow front loader with a gas can lying next to it. A neighbor had heard a loud bang and then a horn, and observed a black pickup heading away from the scene.
Take cash, leave footprint
According to police reports, a burglar struck Fit Fresh Café, 565 W. Diversey Ave., overnight Sept. 25-26. A side window was broken and a shoe print was left on the windowsill. Each of the two registers had been forced open, and a total of $500 was missing.
Stolen curlers
A beauty shop at 1021 W. Wilson Ave. was burglarized of curlers, blow dryers, scissors and hair clippers sometime Sept. 26-27. Police obtained surveillance tapes from the nearby McDonald’s video camera which points in that direction. However, a tree in front of the door blocked the view.
Through the roof
A burglar entered a restaurant via heating ducts from the roof overnight Sept. 27-28. An employee arrived at TBS African Restaurant, 4507 N. Sheridan Rd., to find both doors still locked. However, entry had been made through the ceiling. The offender opened a cash register and took $350.
Snatching $10,000 of cell phones in 60 seconds
Working rapidly, two masked robbers broke into the T-Mobile store, 2754 N. Clybourn Ave., at 1:17 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. They smashed a window with a brick, climbed through, then jumped over the display cases. Sliding open the display case doors, they swept the property into two pillowcase size bags. They fled out the window — and the whole crime only took one minute.
Meanwhile, the security alarm summoned police and the owner, who said numerous miscellaneous cell phones, with a total value of $10,000, were missing. A videotape that recorded the crime was provided to police.
Identity Theft Fair
The Chicago Police are hosting an Identity Theft Fair to share prevention techniques to combat this widespread crime. More than 9.9 million people in the United States had their identity stolen last year alone. Everyone, including infants, who has a Social Security number and/or a number credit rating, is at risk for identity theft. The fair will be held on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. at the LeMoyne Elementary School Auditorium, 851W. Waveland Ave. |
