Two men wearing masks and armed with handguns stole more than $13,000 in cash from the owner of a business at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, in the east parking lot of the shopping center on Dec. 23 at about 11:40 p.m., North Riverside police reported.

The gunmen reportedly ambushed the 43-year-old business owner and two other men, ages 50 and 35, as they attempted to enter a vehicle parked near the east bus stop after closing the business for the night.

One gunman reportedly pointed his weapon at the business owner and said, “You don’t give me your money, I’ll kill you” before taking the day’s sales cash from the victim’s jacket pocket. The other man took $25 from the 35-year-old victim and both gunmen then ran north through the parking lot to a waiting silver vehicle, which exited the mall and headed east on Cermak Road.

The victim said they pursued the gunmen on foot after the robbery and yelled, “They took our money!” Two witnesses reportedly followed the vehicle the gunmen entered and last saw it turn east on 18th Street from Harlem Avenue.

No one was injured during the incident, according to police. 

Burglary

A resident of the 9400 block of Congress Park Avenue, Brookfield, called police on Dec. 20 at 6:30 p.m. to report that sometime during the previous 24 hours someone had entered her possibly unlocked garage and removed a portable circular saw valued at about $150. Other items of value were left untouched. 

A 22-year-old Brookfield man called North Riverside police on Dec. 23 at about 2:15 p.m. to report that he saw someone break the window of his silver Pontiac, which was parked in the lot at Charter Fitness, 1770 Harlem Ave., take items from inside the vehicle and then leave the scene in an older blue Cadillac.

Missing from the vehicle were a Smok vaporizer, a black flannel and an Adidas track bag.

Police responded to the food court parking lot of North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on Dec. 25 after a 42-year-old Berwyn man called to report that between 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. someone had entered his possibly unlocked 2006 Honda Pilot and removed his Galaxy Note 7 cellphone, an iPad, a GPS unit and vehicle registration and insurance documents. 

Punched over parking space

Police responded to the parking lot of the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on Dec. 23 at about 1:50 p.m. after a 49-year-old Chicago woman called to report that she’d just been punched in the face repeatedly by another woman in a dispute over a parking space.

The victim told police that she was driving in the lot and got to a parking space before a Jeep could pull into it. The Jeep parked further down the aisle and a woman got out of the Jeep, began yelling at her and then started punching her until a man removed her. 

Both subjects fled in a Jeep that registered to an address in Westchester, according to police, who indicated that the case remains under investigation. 

Theft

Police responded to a business in the 9500 block of 47th Street, Brookfield, on Dec. 20 at 3:25 p.m. after an employee called to report that an unknown woman had stolen $75 out of her wallet.

The victim said the woman had come into the business and asked if she could fax something. After faxing the document, the woman left the store and the victim went into the back of the business to complete some tasks.

Ten minutes later the victim saw the same woman leaving her office, saying she’d forgotten her cellphone. At that time, the victim said she found her wallet out of her purse and the cash missing.

Meanwhile, a purse was stolen from the office of a business in the 9100 block of Broadway Avenue on Dec. 22 at about 4:45 p.m. The victim told police three subjects entered the business. While one kept her occupied, two others asked to use the bathroom and then left the building shortly after.

Drunk and pants-less

Police responded to a building in the 9300 block of Ogden Avenue on Dec. 23 at about 9:15 p.m. after a resident called to report that a subject wearing a black jacket and no pants was standing outside the door to his apartment, possibly trying to gain entry.

The complainant said he wasn’t sure what the man’s intentions were and figured he was drunk, which police also observed. Police reported that the man was incoherent but were able to identify him after finding a wallet in his jacket pocket. 

Paramedics transported him to LaGrange Memorial Hospital for treatment. No charges were filed.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Dec. 19-25, 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