Brookfield police reported two more business break-ins last week, following on the heels of two others that exhibited a similar method of operation.
The two previous break-ins were not near each other-one on 31st Street and one on Maple Avenue just north of Eight Corners. Last week’s were confined to the same block, at 9215 and 9219 Broadway Avenue.
Police responded to 9215 Broadway Ave., home of Broadway Family Restaurant, just after 9 p.m. on Dec. 8. Upon arrival, officers found the lower half of the glass front door with a 3.5-foot hole in it. The owner of the business said that the business had been closed since 4 p.m.
Inside, the cash registers were found open and $100 was reported missing from the drawers. A small chunk of flagstone was found on the floor, about 20 feet from the front door, inside the business.
At the Mirobolant Hair Salon at 9219 Broadway Ave., officers found the 6-by-3-foot glass front door completely shattered. The salon’s owner reported closing the business at about 8 p.m. Inside, drawers were opened and supplies were thrown about. The owner could not determine whether anything was missing from the salon. Police did not find any item inside the business that could have been used to break the front door glass.
Burglary
A resident of the 3800 block of Arden Avenue, Brookfield, reported to police that her residence had been burglarized some time between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Dec. 10.
The resident said that she had returned home, entering through the back door, which was still locked. However, she noticed lights on in the bedrooms and found that both rooms had been ransacked. Most of the drawers in the dressers and nightstand in one bedroom had been opened and their items moved around. In a second bedroom, the closet had been opened and dresser drawers opened. On the floor of one of the bedrooms she found three checkbooks and two purses, which had been placed on the nightstand.
Police reported that the living room door appeared to have been forced open. A 12-by-12-inch glass pane on the front door had been broken and officers discovered pry marks on the door frame. Police stated that the burglars made off with jewelry and cash, but did not disclose the value of the loss.
According to a neighbor, at about 4:15 p.m. someone had knocked on the door and rang the doorbell of her residence. She didn’t open the door, but said there were two men standing outside. The men, she said appeared to be Hispanic in their late 20s or early 30s. One of the men was described as stocky, while the other was said to be thinner and taller. A red hatchback vehicle was parked in the woman’s driveway with a female in the front seat.
When the neighbor failed to open the door, she said the man appeared to walk in the direction of the home that was reportedly burglarized.
Meet my twin brother
Riverside police charged Cicero resident Antonio B. Hernandez, 40, with a felony count of driving on a revoked license and obstructing an officer, after trying to convince the officer that the car he was driving belonged to his twin brother, whose license had been previously revoked.
Police pulled Hernandez over on Dec. 6 at 4:20 p.m. after an officer reported that Hernandez’ gray Ford had crossed the double yellow line twice while westbound on 26th Street from Desplaines Avenue. During the stop, the driver reportedly handed a license bearing the name Tony Hernandez to the officer. The officer ran the vehicle’s plates, which came back as registered to Antonio Hernandez, whose license had been revoked due to prior convictions for driving under the influence.
Hernandez claimed that “Antonio” was his twin brother. The officer didn’t buy the story and brought him to the station, where Hernandez was fingerprinted and found to be Antonio B. Hernandez.
Police reported that they discovered that Hernandez had a separate valid driver’s license issued under the name of Tony for the past 10 years. The report added that Hernandez falsified documents in order to get the license and that he had been stopped numerous times, including four times in 2006, and that no one had questioned his story.
Hernandez was also charged with a felony count of possession of a fictitious driver’s license and improper lane usage. His bond was set at $50,000.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Brookfield and Riverside police departments from Dec. 3 through Dec. 10 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not been adjudicated.
-Compiled by Bob Uphues