Break-in foiled by alert homeowner

Maywood resident Willie E. Jones Jr., 44, faces a felony count of possession of burglary tools and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and criminal damage to property after a Brookfield homeowner reportedly spied him trying to break into a garage in the 3600 block of Rosemear Avenue on Sept. 13, just before 4 a.m.

The homeowner had let his dog outside and was just bringing the dog back in when he reportedly saw a large shadow close to his home. Looking out the window, he saw a man who appeared to be cutting the window screens of the garage and attempting to open the windows.

When police arrived, they reportedly found Jones walking through the alley carrying a large pipe in his right hand and another object in his left hand. When the police officer announced himself, Jones reportedly dropped the objects, later found to be a crowbar and a small hatchet, and started to run. He was apprehended after he ran into and got entangled in a large bush.

Inside Jones’ vehicle, which was discovered nearby, police reported recovering two sledgehammers, bolt cutters, two screwdrivers, a crowbar, a throwing knife and an 8-inch butcher knife.

Harassment

A 24-year-old Berwyn man has been charged with harassment after allegedly posting naked photographs of his ex-girlfriend on his Facebook page and threatening to post more if she didn’t meet with him to try to repair their rocky relationship.

Riverside police stated that a 21-year-old woman complained to them on Sept. 15 at 1:20 p.m. that she had been receiving numerous text messages from her former boyfriend, saying he had posted the pictures. The man continued to send text messages that afternoon while the woman was at the Riverside Police Department.

At 5:15 p.m., police went to the man’s address in Berwyn and took him into custody without incident. He was charged with domestic harassment through electronic communication, a misdemeanor, according to Police Chief Thomas Weitzel.

The man’s Facebook account has been disabled, according to police.

Garage break-ins

A resident of the 3100 block of Raymond Avenue, Brookfield, reported on Sept. 9 that sometime during the past day someone entered the unlocked service door of his garage and removed an RCA LCD television. No other valuables were missing from the garage.

Sometime between 9 a.m. on Sept. 11 and 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, someone entered the unlocked service door of a garage in the 3700 block of Madison Avenue, Brookfield, and removed a tool bag filled with various tools, a Craftsman weed trimmer and two electric saws.

Theft

A 21-year-old former Brookfield resident, whom police say has a criminal history that includes theft and burglary, has been charged with stealing cash from a vase inside a Riverside home during a July 4 house party.

On Sept. 12, officers from the Riverside Police Department and the West Suburban Enhanced Drug/Gang Enforcement (WEDGE) task force took Aurelio Ortega into custody in an alley near the 2100 block of South Damen Avenue in Chicago.

At the time of his arrest, police also discovered Ortega was wanted on a no-bond probation violation warrant related to a Brookfield burglary case. Ortega, a reputed street gang member, was also wanted on a domestic battery warrant out of Downers Grove, according to police.

On July 4, a resident of the 300 block of Shenstone Road in Riverside called police to report that cash was missing from a vase that had been hidden inside the home. Ortega reportedly had access to that room during a party held that day and was seen placing something in his pants pocket as he was leaving the home that afternoon.

As of Monday afternoon, Ortega was being held at Cook County Jail with bond set at $10,000, awaiting a Sept. 20 court date at the Maybrook courthouse.

For the second time in a week, a North Riverside car dealership contacted police to report that side-view mirrors had been stolen from vehicles. On Sept. 11, a service manager at Castle Buick, 7400 Cermak Road, reported that both driver’s-side and passenger-side mirrors and actuators (the motors controlling the mirrors) had been stolen from five GMC Yukon SUVs parked in the east lot.

The mirrors were estimated at $500 apiece to replace.

A 44-year-old Berwyn woman contacted North Riverside police on Sept. 9 to report that her son had parked her 2000 Lincoln in the Sears parking lot at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on Sept. 8. Returning to the vehicle, she noticed the vehicle had been ransacked and a Panasonic touchscreen radio missing.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Sept. 9-15, 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.