Brookfield police continue to investigate the theft of an employer issued pickup truck from in front of a home in the 3800 block of Harrison Avenue during the overnight hours of Nov. 1-2.

The victim told police the truck had been parked, unlocked in front of his residence and that he had left the ignition key inside the truck. 

However, the truck was equipped with a GPS system that allowed police to track the vehicle to the railroad easement behind an apartment complex on Beach Avenue in LaGrange Park. A police officer located the vehicle at that location, locked but undamaged. Someone from the victim’s employer brought a key to open the vehicle, and police also recovered a key from the steering column of the vehicle.

Also inside the vehicle were a glass smoking pipe, two packs of cigarettes, a laser light projector, a speaker and a 7-Eleven cup that did not belong to the victim. A company-issued fuel credit card was missing from the truck.

GPS information also indicated the vehicle had stopped at a 7-Eleven at 708 E. 31st St. in LaGrange Park overnight on Nov. 1-2.

Riverside police responded to 7-Eleven, 2600 Harlem Ave., on Nov. 3 at 1:40 p.m. after a man called to report that his black 2006 Toyota Matrix had just been stolen from the parking lot.

The victim told police he parked his car in a space in front of the minimart and left it running and unlocked as he went inside. When he came out, his car was gone. A witness told police that after the victim had gone inside the store, he saw a silver Hyundai pull into the lot.

A man exited the Hyundai, got into the victim’s vehicle and drove away at high speed with the Hyundai following behind.

Driver flees scene of rollover crash

The driver of a gray Nissan that rolled over onto its roof after crashing into a gas street light in the first block of Northgate Road in Riverside on Nov. 4 at about 4:10 a.m. fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind.

The impact of the crash had broken the street light into multiple pieces and police reported finding a small amount of blood on the car’s interior roof. Security video reportedly captured the crash. A couple of minutes later, the driver can be seen crawling from the wreckage.

Police went to the address of the vehicle’s registered owner, whose driver’s license reportedly is revoked for a DUI conviction, but were unable to locate him. Police took samples of blood inside the car as evidence to be tested.

Vehicle break-ins

A resident of the 3600 block of Morton Avenue, Brookfield, called police to report that during the overnight hours of Nov. 1-2 someone entered his vehicle, which was unlocked and parked in front of his home, and removed about $20 in cash from the center console.

Riverside police responded to the first block of Woodside Road on the morning of Nov. 6 after a resident called to report that during the overnight hours someone entered his unlocked vehicle, which was parked in the rear of the property, and removed a Hilti PS100 concrete scanner valued at $30,000 and a Hilti Ferro scanner valued at $5,000.

North Riverside police responded to the 9200 block of Cermak Road on Nov. 7 after an employee of a business in the strip mall there called to report that someone had entered his vehicle, which was parked in the lot on the afternoon of Nov. 6 and rifled through his belongings.

Security camera footage reportedly captured a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt entering the passenger side of the unlocked vehicle at about 1:05 p.m. Nothing was reported missing.

Robbery reported at Kohl’s

North Riverside police are investigating what appeared to be a potential retail theft case at Kohl’s, 2200 Harlem Ave., as a robbery after the offender allegedly told a clerk  he was armed before pushing her aside and leaving the store with several bottles of cologne on Nov. 2 at about 8:10 p.m.

An employee told police she noticed a man crouching down in the men’s cologne section as if he was scooping bottles into his backpack. When the employee approached and asked if he needed assistance, the man reportedly stood up and pushed the employee aside and said, “I have a gun” before leaving the store through the east exit.

The man never displayed a weapon, according to the police report, but several bottles of cologne were missing from the display.

Aggravated speeding

North Riverside police charged a 37-year-old Broadview man with aggravated speeding after an officer on patrol reported observing a silver Chrysler 300 traveling at 73 mph in a 35 mph zone while westbound from the 8000 block of Cermak Road on Nov. 2 at about 8:45 a.m.

Police caught up with the vehicle as it turned into the Citgo station at 8545 Cermak Road and arrested the man. The arresting officer asked the driver if he was armed. The driver said he was, and the officer disarmed him before taking him into custody.

DUI

Brookfield police charged a 57-year-old Chicago man with driving under the influence of alcohol after a police officer reported observing him behind the wheel of a silver 2006 Jeep, which was traveling at about 10 mph while swerving from lane to lane while eastbound in the 9100 block of Ogden Avenue on Nov. 1 at about 7 p.m.

After the police officer engaged his squad car’s emergency lights, the Jeep reached Prairie Avenue and made a slow left turn up onto the sidewalk and into the lot of a gas station.

The driver appeared very intoxicated and reportedly refused to submit to sobriety tests. Police also reported finding open and closed 24-ounce cans of beer in the vehicle’s center console. In addition to DUI, police also cited the driver for driving on the sidewalk, illegal transportation of open alcohol and other traffic offenses.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Nov. 1-7, 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