North Riverside police are looking for two women who perpetrated a scam that cost an 82-year-old Brookfield woman $2,500 on the afternoon of Sept. 16.
According to the report, the victim was leaving the Goodwill store, 2000 Harlem Ave., North Riverside, around 2:30 p.m. when she was approached by a woman carrying a wallet. The woman said she had just found the wallet, which contained a large amount of cash, and didn’t know what to do. She added that she would go ask her “boss” for advice when a second woman approached.
The first woman explained to the newcomer about the wallet and said that the two should wait there, because she’d need two witnesses.
The first woman left, returning a short time later carrying some papers and the wallet. She related that her boss said to get some earnest money from the other two women. That way, he’d be able to write down the serial numbers of the bills and the two women would be able to split the large amount of money in the wallet. The first woman suggested they get “a couple of thousand” which would net them $20,000 to $30,000.
Around 3 p.m. the victim drove the second woman to the Bank One branch at 1730 Harlem Ave. The second woman then went into the bank ostensibly to make a withdrawal, and returned with $2,500. The victim then did the same. They then drove back to the Goodwill lot and gave the money to the first woman, who pointed at the car dealership on the northwest corner of Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road, and told the victim she could claim her share of the money in Room 102.
The victim walked into the car dealership and asked for Room 102, which did not exist. She later tried to locate the other two women to no avail.
Subsequently, police interviewed bank employees and reported that the second woman made a $35 deposit into an account registered to a Maywood woman before leaving. The investigation continues.
Burglary
Brookfield police charged Shawn A. Roden, 25, of Brookfield with burglary after a resident of the 9100 block of Sherman Avenue reportedly found Roden inside his garage just after 2:15 a.m. on Sept. 22.
Police initially received a 911 call from the victim, who said he was holding a subject who entered his garage. The victim stated that he left his residence for about 10 minutes, riding his bike to the vicinity of the Memorial Circle and back. When he came home, the victim said he observed the metal screen door, which was usually propped against the service door, moved away and Roden inside.
When police asked Roden if he entered the garage, Roden allegedly replied that he did, but that he had seen someone run through his yard and was just looking around. However, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved felony charges be entered against Roden, who was charged with burglary.
– Brookfield police reported that sometime between 8:30 and 9 p.m. on Sept. 19, someone broke into a van parked in a business lot in the 9200 block of Ogden Avenue, and stole several power tools valued at over $1,400.
– Sometime between midnight and 7 a.m. on Sept. 19, someone smashed out the right front passenger-side window of a 1992 Oldsmobile parked in an apartment building lot in the 4500 block of Grove Avenue, Brookfield, and removed a Pioneer AM/FM/CD stereo valued at $200 from the dashboard. The offender also inflicted about $300 in damage on the vehicle.
– During the overnight hours of Sept. 18-19, someone entered a 1995 Chevy truck parked in the 4500 block of Elm Avenue, Brookfield, by breaking out the driver’s side window vent. The victim was unsure exactly what was missing from the vehicle.
Theft
A woman reported to Brookfield police that just after 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 19, someone removed a leather wallet from her purse as she stood at a counter in the lobby of the First National Bank of Brookfield, 9136 Washington Ave., filling out a bank form. The wallet contained a stock dividend check for $90 and $10 in cash.
– Sometime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Sept. 19, someone stole a Weber Silver Series gas grill valued at $400 from the backyard of a home in the 4600 block of Custer Avenue, Brookfield.
– Between 5:30 and 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 23, someone entered an unlocked plastic shed behind an apartment building in the 3800 block of Forest Avenue, Brookfield, and removed a camping stove valued at $60.
Graffiti
A custodian at Riverside Presbyterian Church, 116 Barrypoint Road, phoned police just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 23 to report that during the overnight hours, someone had spray painted swastikas on three of the church doors that face Barrypoint Road. Riverside police added that a Catholic Church in Lyons suffered similar defacement that night.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from Sept. 16 through Sept. 23 and represents a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.
?”compiled by Bob Uphues
