Burbank resident Pawel Nowakowski, 19, faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding police after he and two others reportedly tried to evade police by driving their motorcycles at speeds of more than 80 mph while driving southbound on First Avenue on July 4 at about 4 p.m.

A North Riverside officer reported a group of three motorcyclists passed her in a tight group at 57 mph in a 35 mph zone at 26th Street. She gave chase and caught up with the group at Golfview Avenue, but the cycles then went between two southbound cars, driving on the white line to pass them, and continued that way while passing six other vehicles, police said, forcing the officer to cease the chase.

The officer radioed ahead to Lyons, which had an officer helping a stalled motorist on First Avenue at Ogden Avenue. That officer saw the cycles approaching and went into traffic, ordering them to stop. Two of the cycles went around the officer, while Nowakowski stopped.

Nowakowski reportedly told the officer he did not know the other two motorcyclists.  In addition to the felony charge, Nowakowski was charged with reckless driving, speeding, operation of an uninsured vehicle and improper lane usage.

Central AC unit stolen from yard

A real estate agent contacted North Riverside police on July 5 at about 1 p.m. to report that the central air-conditioning unit had been stolen from the backyard of a home in the 2300 block of 4th Avenue.

A neighbor contacted the real estate agent whose number was on a sign in the front yard of the house, which is for sale.  The responding officer reported that all that was left in the backyard was the concrete pad and the lines that connected the unit with the house.

The July 5 incident was the second such report North Riverside police have taken in the past month.

Boy charged with car break-in

A 16-year-old Broadview boy was charged with unlawful trespass to a vehicle and 18-year-old Timothy Travis, of Chicago, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after North Riverside police responded to a report of subjects breaking into a vehicle in the 2200 block of 4th Avenue at 10:50 p.m. on July 6.

A 911 caller told police that four subjects were involved in the incident and that one of them had tried to enter his car, which was parked on the driveway apron. The car’s owner confronted the boy and all four subjects ran away.

Police apprehended Travis and a 17-year-old Broadview boy in the 8600 block of Cermak Road. Another officer apprehended the 16-year-old boy near Cermak Road and 5th Avenue.

Police later found that several car doors open on 4th Avenue and a gym bag containing a high school basketball uniform on the parkway in the 2400 block of 9th Avenue. During the investigation, police determined the 16-year-old boy had taken the bag from a vehicle there.

A resident of the 2300 block of 7th Avenue, North Riverside, reported on July 7, that someone entered her 1994 Isuzu Rodeo, which was parked on the street, and removed an RCA mp3 player, an ignition key and key ring containing 16 keys.

North Riverside police responded to the lower-level parking garage at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, after a Cicero woman called to report that the radio had been stolen from the dashboard of her unlocked 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Garage burglaries in Brookfield

A resident of the 4200 block of Park Avenue, Brookfield, reported on July 8 that someone had entered his unlocked garage some time between 9:15 and 11:05 p.m. and stole a 1990 Harley Davidson motorcycle valued at more than $8,000.

A resident of the 8900 block of Gerritsen Avenue, Brookfield, reported that some time during the overnight hours of July 7 and 8, someone gained entry to the outdoor plastic storage shed and removed a Honda lawnmower, a leaf blower, a gasoline-powered hedge trimmer, a pair of hedge clippers and various garden tools. The total loss was estimated at more than $900.

Brookfield police reported that between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m. on July 7 someone took a Craftsman snow blower from the garage of a home in the 4400 block of Sunnyside Avenue. The garage was likely left unlocked, police said.

A resident of the 4100 block of Madison Avenue, Brookfield, reported that during the overnight hours of July 6 and 7, someone entered the family’s unlocked garage and removed two bicycles, a purple girls’ mountain bike valued at $200 and a blue boys’ BMX “Dyno” bike valued at $300.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, July 4-July 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. These cases have not been adjudicated.

-Compiled by Bob Uphues