Sunday, January 4, 2015

Crime News Update


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. May all of us also remember that a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Thieves posing as Chicago Department of Water Management employees stole $5,000 cash and three wedding/engagement rings from a 75-year-old husband and wife in their home near 52nd and Meade.

The crime occurred at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, December 27. The wife told police that a man who said he was a water inspector knocked at her door, saying he needed to come inside and check the home’s water pressure. She let him in, and he appeared to check the kitchen sink before stating that he needed her to accompany him to the basement to check pressure there.

While they were downstairs, an accomplice slipped in the back door and ransacked two bedrooms. The man posing as a water department worker was described as a Hispanic man age 45, 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, with brown eyes and short black hair, light complexion, wearing a Water Department baseball cap and a blue windbreaker.

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Thieves stole a Ford van parked near 53rd and Natoma, near the home of its owner, a 49-year-old man, and ditched it in an alley near 46th and Laramie at 12:20 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29.

Police recovered the vehicle and contacted the victim, who said that nearly $6,000 worth of power tools were missing, along with the van’s spare tire.

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Want to work directly with Chicago Police to prevent crime in your neighborhood? If you live in Beat 815 or 821 (see map), come to St. Bruno School (south entrance) at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 7. Hear updates on crime in your neighborhood and learn how you can work with neighbors and police to make the community safer and better for all.


Burglars smashed through a side basement window of a home near 52nd and Normandy and stole a full-length fox-fur coat, a necklace and two purses. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 67-year-old man, at 3 p.m. Friday, January 2.

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A 26-year-old woman who had not yet moved into her new home near 56th and Karlov discovered the premises vandalized by thugs who painted gang slogans throughout the interior. She discovered the crime when she entered the home on Saturday, January 3. She stumbled upon the trio of vandals when she arrived, and they ran off with her purse after a confrontation. Police later found some of the purse's contents in alleys east of the home.

The victim described the trio as two Hispanic men age 21-22, and a Hispanic woman age 19-20. The woman was 5-foot-3 and 150 pounds, with blond hair in a ponytail, with a light complexion.

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A 46-year-old Oak Lawn man told police he was robbed at gunpoint behind the currency exchange at 4750 South Cicero at 9:10 a.m. Friday, January 2. The victim said he had just come out of the currency exchange and drove around the back to throw out some garbage when the crime occurred. The bandit escaped with the victim's wallet, which contained $189 cash.

The victim said he did not see the robber because he came up from behind and ordered him to look forward at all times.

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A 22-year-old West Lawn man told police he was robbed by two men on the sidewalk in front of 4532 West 63rd Street at 12:20 a.m. Friday, January 2. The victim said that he was hit in the back of the head by an unknown object and pushed to the ground. The robbers took a chain from around his neck, but failed to get his cell phone in a struggle, before they fled. They are described as black men age 22-23. One is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds with black braided hair. The other is 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, with short black hair.

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Want to work directly with Chicago Police to prevent crime in your neighborhood? If you live in Beat 814 (see map), come to Vittum Park at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 8. Hear updates on crime in your neighborhood and learn how you can work with neighbors and police to make the community safer and better for all.

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Burglars forced open the back door of a home near 45th and Knox and stole two TVs and a Blu-ray Disc player. The crime was discovered at 3:20 p.m. Friday, January 2 by a 43-year-old West Lawn woman who was checking the premises on behalf of her 66-year-old father, who owns the home and was on vacation in Mexico.





Burglars cut the lock on the back gate of U.S. Trailer Parts & Supply, 4334 South Tripp, and stole an estimated $9,000 worth of truck brake cores. The crime was discovered by a manager at 11:00 p.m. Thursday, December 25. The burglars also succeeded in disabling a security camera, according to the police report.

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Burglars pried open the back door of a home near 57th and Karlov and stole an undetermined amount of jewelry and cash. The victim, an 84-year-old woman, told police she was praying in her living room at 1:30 p.m. Monday, December 29 when she heard a knock at her front door. By the time she made it to the front door to see who was there, she heard a knock at the back door. The victim moves slowly and with a cane, and by the time she reached the rear door, three burglars who had gained access to second-floor bedrooms ran past her and out the door. She described them as Hispanic men age 25-30.


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Burglars pried open the side door of a home near 70th and Keeler and stole a TV, a laptop computer, an iPad and a tablet computer. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 37-year-old woman, at 4 p.m. Monday, December 29.

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http://www.getbehindthevest.org/

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