Elderly woman taken for a ride

Two men who apparently targeted a 79-year-old Chicago woman for a swindle ended up taking a wallet containing $1,000 from her purse during a strange encounter that started in North Riverside on June 1 at about 10:30 a.m.

The woman had just pulled into a parking space at Goodwill, 1900 Harlem Ave., when she was approached by a man who asked if she spoke Spanish. When she replied that she did, the man asked her if she knew where the immigration office was. When she said she did not, the man called over to another man and asked if he knew where the office was.

When that man replied, “Yes,” the first man offered the woman $20 for a ride to the immigration office, an offer she accepted. Both men got into the car, beginning a very strange ride.

At first they headed down Harlem to 26th Street, where the men had the woman turn around and drive back north and into the parking lot of McDonald’s at Harlem and Cermak in Berwyn. There, the second man asked the woman if she had any money or credit cards, to which she replied she did not.

The woman reported that the second man had a phone conversation where he told an unknown person that he didn’t have the “$30,000 to become legal” and said the woman in the vehicle with him didn’t have any money.

The men ordered the woman to drive further north on Harlem, stopping on 21st Street in Berwyn, where the second man exited the vehicle and returned carrying a black duffel bag, which he said was filled with cash. The men then ordered the woman to drive to an area near 16th Street and Harlem Avenue, where the second man exited the vehicle again and returned with $2,500 in cash, which he had the woman count out for him.

The second man again asked the woman for money, but she once again said she didn’t have any. At that time both men left the vehicle into Berwyn in separate directions. The woman later discovered she left her purse in the back seat of the car and that her wallet, which contained $1,000 in cash and identification, was missing.

Student suspended for BB gun

A Komarek School student was suspended and faces the possibility of expulsion after he allegedly brought a loaded plastic BB gun to school on May 28.

Parents of a classmate of the boy’s contacted school officials after their child reportedly received a threatening text message on May 24. The classmate reportedly said the boy had brought the gun to school regularly and kept it in his backpack.

School officials searched the backpack and reportedly discovered a clear plastic target pistol loaded with plastic balls. The boy reportedly told officials that he got the gun from a friend and that he had it because he was tired of his classmate picking on him.

The boy was not charged with a crime but was suspended from school for 10 days, according to the police report.

A/C parts stolen

Someone posing as an air-conditioner repair man reportedly stole copper and aluminum parts from a central-air condensing unit located behind a home in the 3500 block of Arden Avenue, Brookfield, on May 23.

The tenant of the home called police on May 25 saying that someone had stripped the unit, which can be seen from the street, of most of its parts, leaving behind just the outer shell, compressor and fan.

A neighbor told police that on May 23 a man appeared to be working on the unit. When the neighbor asked the man what he was doing, the man replied that he was taking it apart to clean it. The neighbor didn’t think much of the incident, however, because he knew that the unit didn’t work very well.

Kidnapping plan foiled

On May 23, the victim of an alleged Riverside drug rip-off burglary in March was charged with disorderly conduct for reportedly planning a revenge kidnapping as a response to the burglary.

Three people have been charged with burglarizing a Riverside house in order to get large amounts of cannabis and cash. The incident, according to police, is part of a dispute between area juveniles for control of cannabis trafficking.

In the last month, Riverside police reported finding evidence that the 17-year-old victim of the burglary was planning to kidnap the three alleged burglars, choke them until they passed out and then gag and tie them up. Hand-written notes detailing equipment to be used and dates for the kidnapping were reportedly recovered by police.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, May 23-June 2, 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.