Riverside police continue to investigate a residential burglary that took place in the late afternoon/early evening of Jan. 22 in the 200 block of Olmsted Road.

No one was home at the time the front door of the home was forced open, according to police, who issued a press release about the incident on Jan. 27. As of Jan. 30, police said they did not have an itemized list of the items stolen.

The department’s investigation determined that the break-in occurred between 4:15 p.m. and 6:35 p.m., when the victim called police to report the burglary. Cook County Sheriff’s Department evidence technicians assisted local detectives in processing the scene.

Anyone with information or video that may have captured the incident is asked to call 708-447-9191.

Auto theft

An orange Dodge Charger stolen overnight on Jan. 24-25 from the 2200 block of Lathrop Avenue in North Riverside was recovered in a vacant lot on Chicago’s West Side, according to police.

The victim called police at about noon on Jan. 25 to report that the vehicle had been stolen from where it was parked on the street in front of the residence. However, an Apple AirTag installed in the vehicle indicated it was stationary in the 5500 block of Gladys Avenue in Chicago.

A North Riverside detective went to that location at about 1 p.m. and found the vehicle, which had a missing rear passenger side window and glass in the rear seat area, parked in a vacant lot along with other cars.

Stolen vehicle recovered at mall

An Audi A6 parked near the food court entrance of North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on the afternoon of Jan. 28 was stolen, according to police and had equipment inside it suggesting it was used to also steal catalytic converters.

A police officer on patrol at the mall at around 4:50 p.m. reported observing the Audi without a front license plate backed into a parking space. A computer check of the rear license plate revealed it should have been affixed to a 2021 Nissan. A further check of the Audi’s vehicle ID number showed it had been stolen out of Bridgeview in October.

Inside the vehicle, police reported recovering an 18-volt power saw battery, Sawzall blades, a vehicle floor jack and 10 key fobs with ID tags attached.

DUI crash

  • Brookfield police charged a 68-year-old Brookfield man with driving under the influence of alcohol after he allegedly drove his 2001 Lincoln into the rear end of a 1999 Honda Civic that was parked on Garfield Avenue just west of Maple Avenue on Jan. 25 at about 1 p.m.

The driver, who was still seated behind the wheel of the Lincoln when police arrived, was not injured but appeared to be intoxicated, according to police. A breath test at the police station reportedly revealed the driver’s blood-alcohol content to be .232, which is nearly three times the legal limit of .08.

In addition to the DUI charge, the man was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.

  • North Riverside police charged a 55-year-old Cicero man with driving under the influence of alcohol after his vehicle allegedly rear-ended another vehicle stopped at a red light on southbound Harlem Avenue at 26th Street on Jan. 26 at about 6:55 p.m.

No one was hurt and the other vehicle wasn’t damaged, but a police officer reported that the offending driver appeared intoxicated and had admitted drinking wine at an Oak Park restaurant prior to getting behind the wheel.

After the driver failed field sobriety tests, a breath test at the police station reportedly revealed his blood-alcohol content to be .206, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08. In addition to DUI, he was cited for following too closely and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.

Felony DUI

A 44-year-old Brookfield man faces a felony DUI charge after a police officer pulled him over for driving a car without working tail lights on Jan. 28 at 1:55 a.m. in the 8800 block of Ogden Avenue, Brookfield.

During the traffic stop, police reported that the driver, Alberto Arreguin, appeared to be intoxicated and was driving on a license that had been suspended for a prior DUI. Police also reported recovering from Arreguin’s person receipts from two establishments showing he had paid for a total of 14 vodka drinks and two hard seltzers. Police noted that there was a female passenger, who also appeared to be intoxicated, in Arreguin’s vehicle.

Due to the license suspension for a prior DUI, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved a felony DUI charge.

Fleeing and eluding

A 19-year-old Cicero woman faces felony fleeing and eluding charges and a host of traffic citations after she reportedly tried to speed away from a North Riverside police officer trying to make a traffic stop on Forestview Avenue on Jan. 25 at about 3:25 p.m.

According to the police report, the woman was behind the wheel of a gray Mitsubishi Lancer, which was westbound on Forestview Avenue when it drove through the stop sign at 9th Avenue.

However, when the officer activated his squad’s lights and siren, the woman reportedly sped away, driving through four more stops signs before losing control of the Mitsubishi, which skidded off the roadway, drove through the grass parkway and headed north on 14th Avenue before coming to a stop.

Police ordered the driver and five passengers out of the vehicle, arresting the driver, who was charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding and cited for having no valid driver’s license, no insurance, expired license plates, driving too fast for conditions, transporting an unlawful number of passengers and for failing to stop at five stop signs.

Criminal damage

A tenant of an apartment complex in the 7800 block of 26th Street, North Riverside, called police on the morning of Jan. 25 to report that someone had spray painted what looked to be a “pay up” message on her vehicle during the overnight hours.

The victim told police that she did not know who could have done such a thing, but police also reported that the same message had been spray painted on the rear door of the apartment building. 

Calling all cars

Brookfield police responded to the 4400 block of Maple Avenue on Jan. 29 at about 8:05 p.m. after a resident called to request that a “creepy doll” left on top of her garbage can be removed.

A police officer reported observing and removing the small doll, possibly a Halloween decoration, from the lid of the garbage can.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Jan. 22-29, 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