Brookfield police reported several more burglaries last week to vehicles, a garage and one residence. And during the early morning hours of Sunday, Aug. 21, police received two reports of subjects wearing backpacks checking door handles of vehicles parked on the street.
On the morning of Aug. 16, police were called to the 9100 block of Lincoln Avenue for a pair of burglaries. One of the incidents involved a Chevy pickup truck parked in a driveway at the rear of a residence.
According to police, a rear window of the truck was broken out and a refrigerant recovery machine and three hose gauges were missing. That same morning on the same block, a homeowner reported that a telescope had been stolen from his garage in the past day. The man found his overhead garage door open. Police reported no signs of forced entry.
There were three other incidents reported last week on the south end of the village.
On Aug. 15, a resident called to report that more than 200 prescription pills, including pain medication, muscle relaxants and sleep aids were stolen from a lock box inside her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in the 4100 block of Oak Avenue.
During the overnight hours of Aug. 20-21, a resident of the 4100 block of DuBois Boulevard reported that someone had tried to punch out two door locks to his Chevy work van, shattering a window in the process.
No entry was gained to the vehicle, according to police, and nothing was reported missing.
On Aug. 20, police responded to the 4200 block of Custer Avenue after receiving a report that someone had broken into a vacant home on that block. Police reported that the rear door of the house appeared to have been kicked in to gain entry.
The house had been vacant for some time and no subjects were found inside.
Finally, on the morning of Aug. 20, Brookfield police received reports that five subjects were seen attempting to enter vehicles parked in the 3200 block of Park Avenue and the 3100 block of Madison Avenue.
One witness said he observed the individuals about 5:20 a.m. He yelled at the subjects, who were wearing backpacks and chased them away westbound on Jackson Avenue from Park Avenue.
Another witness said five subjects were recorded on his home’s surveillance camera system trying to enter three of his vehicles. He made the report about 6:20 a.m., but said the incident occurred about 4:30 a.m., according to the time stamp on the video, police said.
Suspicious fires
- Brookfield firefighters responded to the 3400 block of Park Avenue on Aug. 21 at 11:35 p.m. to extinguish a car fire that may have been set intentionally.
The vehicle was parked off the alley. Witnesses reported hearing male voices prior to calling 911 and then observed what appeared to be fireworks going off underneath the vehicle.
Another neighbor reported hearing a pop or small explosion and then heard multiple subjects running through the alley. By the time firefighters arrived, the front of the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.
- Also on Aug. 21, about 11:20 p.m., Brookfield police were called to a residence in the 3300 block of Arthur Avenue to investigate a report of juveniles setting a front garden on fire.
The fire had been out for some time prior to the officers’ arrival. The homeowners called after going outside and noticing a portion of their front garden had been burnt.
Jewelry taken in Riverside burglary
A resident of the 100 block of Akenside Road, Riverside, contacted police to report that her home had been burglarized between 10 a.m. on Aug. 3 and 11 p.m. on Aug. 14. There were no signs of forced entry to the home, but a patio door reportedly was found unsecured when the homeowner returned home.
A jewelry box containing jewelry valued at roughly $10,000 was missing from the master bedroom.
Alleged shoplifter bolts
North Riverside police are looking for a woman who reportedly was caught stealing $400 in clothing from J.C. Penney at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, and then ran away from security and got into a car driven by a man who then allegedly punched the female security guard in the face before fleeing on Aug. 21 at about 12:20 p.m.
According to police, the shoplifting suspect left behind her driver’s license, and police were able to get the license plate number of the vehicle she left in. The shoplifting suspect has an extensive history of theft, police said. In addition, the Illinois Department of Corrections had issued an arrest warrant for the suspected driver of the getaway car related to a parole violation.
Young peeping Tom?
A resident of the north end of Brookfield called police on Aug. 17 at about 10:30 p.m. to report that someone was looking into his daughter’s bedroom window. The victim told police she was standing in front of a mirror when she observed what appeared to be a pair of eyes looking through the blinds covering the window.
She said she turned around and saw the eyes again. When she walked toward the window, the eyes disappeared and she heard what sounded like someone tripping over an object next to the house. Police said it appeared someone with smaller sized feet matted down the grass in the area near the window.
Bike theft
A resident of the 3800 block of Grove Avenue, Brookfield, flagged down a police officer on Aug. 21 at about 4:05 p.m. to report that a bike had been stolen from her property on Aug. 14 sometime after 5 p.m.
The bike was described as a red Schwinn child’s bicycle.
Vehicle break-in at mall
A 21-year-old Chicago woman called police on Aug. 21 at about 8:30 p.m. to report that someone had broken into her possibly unlocked 2016 Toyota Camry.
The victim said she had been inside the mall for about two-and-a-half hours. When she returned to her vehicle, she noticed the car’s center console was open and her friend’s gold iPhone 6 and credit card were missing, along with a North Face rain jacket valued at $120.
Someone attempted unsuccessfully to use the credit card at the 7-Eleven at 2600 Harlem Ave. at about 7:30 p.m., police reported.
Paint ball mischief
Two vehicles were the targets of someone with a paint ball gun during the overnight hours of Aug. 16-17, Brookfield police reported.
A vehicle parked in the 4300 block of Elm Avenue had multiple yellow marks on the driver’s side, where paintballs had struck it. In the 4400 block of Elm Avenue, the driver’s side of a vehicle parked on the street appeared to have been shot with orange paint balls.
Chickens on the loose
Riverside police were dispatched to Harrington Park, 79 S. Delaplaine Road, on Aug. 19 at about 7:10 a.m. after someone called to report two chickens left in boxes there.
Police found one of the chickens inside a box and another running around the park. After securing both chickens, police took them to the Trailside Museum in River Forest, because the officers had no idea what to do with them.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Aug. 15-21, 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.
