Saturday, April 14, 2012

Local Crime Roundup

Editor's note: The crime news reported by the Southwest Chicago Post---taken directly from Chicago Police Department incident reports---is not by any means an exhaustive catalogue of all crime reported in the Chicago Lawn (8th) District. For example, it typically does not include news of crimes committed in the eastern and southern sectors of the district---because the Southwest Chicago Post's coverage area is primarily the neighborhoods that border Midway Airport and secondarily because including the relatively large volume of crime news from elsewhere in the district would be a logistical challenge. We make this note to offer a little helpful perspective and remind everyone that while crime is definitely a concern in all parts of the district (as it always has been), crime remains relatively low overall in Sector 1. May all of us work together diligently to keep it that way.
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A 44-year-old Gage Park man was a victim of a strong-arm robbery at 2:00 a.m. Friday, April 13 at 47th and Pulaski. While he was stopped at a red light, two women walked up to his car and knocked on the window. As he rolled down the window, the women asked for a ride. Suddenly, three men ran up to the car, forced the window all the way down, and dragged the victim from the car. They searched him and the car, stealing his wallet. All five then fled east on 47th Street. The only description the victim gave police is that all five offenders were Hispanics ages 22-25.

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An 18-year-old West Lawn woman was a victim of an armed robbery at 7:40 p.m. Friday, April 13 on a sidewalk near 58th and Tripp. She told police that she was out walking when she was approached by four men (no other description available), one of whom displayed a handgun and ordered her to hand over her cell phone and cash ($20), which she did.

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A 39-year-old Archer Heights woman claimed that two men stole $1,500 cash from her apartment near 50th and Tripp at about 7:00 p.m. Thursday, April 12. Arriving home from work with her children, she said she noticed that the locks of her front door appeared to have been changed. As she investigated, she said she saw two men leaving via the rear exit, fighting with each other and one hitting the other with a brick. She reported that as she ran back to her car to protect her children, the two men went back in the rear door and then ran out the front door and down the block. She then went inside and discovered that the water had been turned off and her cash missing. She told police that she thinks the two, described as white men ages 40-45, were acting on behalf of the bank that is foreclosing on her landlord's building.

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Burglars pried open the service door of a garage near 59th and Keeler on the morning of Tuesday, April 10 and stole a mitre saw, a skil saw, a table saw, three nail guns, a frame gun, an air compressor, a grinder, a tile cutter and a weed cutter. The crime was discovered at 1:00 p.m. when the victim, a 46-year-old man, returned home from work.

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A 51-year-old woman told police that someone stole a 32-inch flat screen TV and an Xbox 360 video game console from her basement apartment near 52nd and Kostner, in the early afternoon of Thursday, April 12.  The victim discovered the crime when she returned home from work. There was no sign of forced entry, and the burglar appears to have entered via an unlocked window. Police investigating the incident were told by a tenant on the first floor of the building that he had seen a young man leaving the basement apartment carrying a book bag. He said the young man is a former friend of the victim's son.

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Burglars stole a mountain bike from a garage near 61st and Komensky sometime Wednesday/Thursday, April 11/12. There was no sign of forced entry, and the crime was discovered by the victim, a 36-year-old man, at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12.

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All Southwest Side residents are invited to a Chicago Police burglary prevention seminar set for 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21 in the first-floor auditorium of Daley College, 7500 South Pulaski.

The seminar will feature ex-offenders sharing their secrets on how a burglar thinks: including how they choose which home or garage to burglarize, common mistakes that homeowners make, and more----and they will offer a number of practical steps people can take to minimize their risk of being a burglary victim.


The ex-offenders are participants in the Safer Foundation’s “Keepin’ It Real” program, started by Chicago Police Officer Maudessie Jointer about five years ago to connect former criminals with the community in constructive ways.

Admission and parking are free.

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