Brother, sister charged with CVS thefts
Brookfield police on Aug. 31 nabbed a brother-sister team from Berwyn suspected of stealing items from several area CVS pharmacies and then selling those items to support their drug habits.
According to police, 30-year-old Erick Turczynski and 29-year-old Jody Turczynski hired taxis to take them to their pharmacy destinations. Allegedly, they would go into stores and stuff a handbag full of items before leaving without paying for any of the items.
On Aug. 28, the two allegedly stole more than $1,300 worth of cold medicine from the CVS at 9139 Broadway Ave. in Brookfield and left the store in a taxi cab before the theft was discovered by store personnel.
Then on Aug. 31 about 9:45 a.m., the Turczynskis entered the CVS at 7200 Cermak Road. Dropped off at the store by a taxi, the two entered the store, where they were noted with suspicion by an employee who, like all CVS employees in the area, had been alerted to several thefts at CVS stores recently involving the same method of operation.
According to the employee, Erick Turczynski acted as a lookout while Jody placed items in her bag. The two then ran out of the store and fled in the cab that brought them. They jumped out of the cab without paying, according to the police report, when the driver contacted the dispatcher.
Later that day, however, their luck ran out. On Aug. 31 about 4:10 p.m., the Turczynskis took a cab to the CVS at 8911 Ogden Ave. in Brookfield, where they were immediately recognized by an employee who called police.
Police arrived on the scene and arrested both of the Turczynskis. According to police, both have heroin addictions, and they steal items that they then sell at a dollar store in Cicero.
Both have been convicted previously of retail theft. The Cook County state’s attorney approved one count each of felony retail theft for Erick and Jody Turczynski. They are being held at Cook County Jail awaiting a Sept. 12 court hearing.
Fake drug buy lands man in jail
A 36-year-old North Riverside man on parole for a 2009 drug conviction is back in Cook County Jail after he allegedly set up a drug buy with someone he met on Craigslist and then took $350 from the man without giving him any drugs in return.
Shawn White, who was under electronic home monitoring for another pending case at the time of the Aug. 29 incident, was charged with felony theft for allegedly stealing money from a 23-year-old River Grove man who sought to buy cannabis from him.
The Illinois Department of Corrections also issued a parole violation warrant for White, while the Cook County Sheriff’s Department filed a notice of violation of his home monitoring.
Police said the victim came to North Riverside and met White outside a home in the 2400 block of Hainsworth Avenue. White indicated it was his home and directed the man to the backyard, where he took the man’s money and told him to wait for him to come back with a bag of cannabis, according to police.
But White took off with the man’s money and left him in the backyard of the house, which was actually down the block from White’s.
Undercover police witnessed the entire incident and detained the victim after it happened.
Not a sweet thing to do
Brookfield police reported two separate instances last week of sugar being poured into the gas tanks of vehicles parked outside of homes there.
A resident of the 3700 block of Morton Avenue reported that the gas cap was missing from his 2000 Dodge and that sugar has been packed inside the gas tube.
Later that same day, a resident of the 3800 block of Harrison Avenue contacted police to let them know the gas tank cover of his 2002 Toyota was cut open, and there was a white, powdery substance in and around the opening of the gas tank.
Pear thief loose
A resident of the 3700 block of Madison Avenue, Brookfield, reported to police on Sept. 4 that between 3 and 7 p.m., someone had picked some pears from the tree in his backyard.
Fraudulent checks
The president of the Congress Park School PTO in Brookfield reported on Sept. 4 that someone had tried twice to cash fraudulent checks from the organization’s account at a local bank.
The attempts, both unsuccessful, were made by someone who reportedly lives in Georgia. Authorities there are reportedly investigating.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Aug. 29-Sept. 9, 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
