A man armed with a handgun robbed a convenience store clerk early on July 28, taking money from the cash register before exiting and leaving in a vehicle.

North Riverside police responded to 7-Eleven, 9205 Cermak Road, at about 2:20 a.m. after an employee called to report the robbery. The victim, who was uninjured, said the offender came into the store and grabbed a soft drink from the cooler before approaching the counter as if to pay.

Instead, the offender reportedly pushed the clerk, produced a handgun and reached over the counter, grabbing about $50 from the register. Police described the offender as a Black man, about 6-feet tall with facial hair and wearing a gray hoodie, black shorts and black shoes with white tips and white laces.

The offender was seen on video leaving the store and walking across 17th Avenue to a vehicle, which did a U-turn and headed south on 17th Avenue. A Brookfield police camera last recorded the vehicle heading eastbound on 31st Street.

Felony fleeing/eluding

Mark J. Phillips, 31, of Riverside faces two felony counts of fleeing/eluding police after he reportedly led North Riverside officers on a pursuit that started in the 8300 block of Cermak Road and wound through Broadview, Westchester and Hillside before speeding east on I-290 and north on I-90/94 and then into Chicago’s Loop and onto Du Sable Lakeshore Drive before being blocked into a parking lot near McCormick Place early in the afternoon on July.

North Riverside police received a call at 12:24 p.m. of a blue minivan driving into oncoming traffic while westbound on Cermak Road from Desplaines Avenue. An officer located the van stopped at a traffic light at First Avenue and attempted to pull the driver over.

Instead, the driver, whom the responding officer knew had a revoked driver’s license from prior contacts, sped west on Cermak and then north on Mannheim Road, disobeying two stop signs and a red light while reaching speeds up to 61 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Police terminated the active pursuit on I-290 around Desplaines Avenue, but a police officer in an unmarked squad continued to follow at a distance. Phillips was reportedly forced to exit Lake Shore Drive due to a police blockade due to Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance at McCormick Place. He cut through a parking lot, where police were able to block him in.

After reportedly refusing commands to get on the ground after exiting his vehicle, Phillips reportedly was tackled from behind by a North Riverside police officer. In addition to the two felony counts, Phillips was charged with reckless driving and driving while revoked.

Brookfield vehicle/garage break-ins

A resident of the 8900 block of Southview Avenue, Brookfield, called police on July 25 to report that during the overnight hours, someone entered her vehicle, which was possibly unlocked, and removed a set of Apple ear pods.

Brookfield police responded to a residence in the 3500 block of Prairie Avenue on the morning of July 30 after a resident called to report that someone smashed out a window on her vehicle, which was parked on the street overnight, and removed the garage door remote.

The offender then used that remote to open the garage door and steal a 2016 BMW X6 parked inside.

A resident of the 3900 block of Vernon Avenue, Brookfield, called police on July 30 to report that during the overnight hours, someone entered his unlocked garage and attempted to disassemble the ignition of his vehicle, which was parked inside, in an attempt to steal it.

The offender was not successful, and police recovered a screwdriver, which did not belong to the victim, from inside the vehicle.

The owner of a landscaping company called Brookfield police on July 31 at about 1:15 p.m. to report that someone had stolen a backpack-style leaf blower, valued at about $350, from a work trailer that had been parked during a job in the 4400 block of Sunnyside Avenue.

The victim said he was mowing the lawn at the residence and left the trailer parked out of sight. When he returned, the leaf blower was missing.

Theft

North Riverside police responded to the 2200 block of Park Avenue on the afternoon of July 25 after a resident called to report that someone stole eight outdoor solar-powered lights from the front of his property.

The victim told police he last saw the lights on July 24 at 9 p.m. The lights were valued at about $200.

A woman called North Riverside police on July 25 to report that someone had stolen two planters from the bottom of the front staircase of a home in the 2300 block of 14th Avenue. It was unclear if the planters had been taken that day or the day before. The planters and the flowers in them were valued at about $110.

Brookfield police are investigating the theft of multiple items from a business’ storage yard in the 3400 block of Maple Avenue on July 26 around noon. 

The witness told police that the items had been taken by someone driving a maroon pickup truck, which was last seen southbound on Maple Avenue. According to the victim, 11 manhole covers, two manhole framers and an unknown number of manhole couplings were taken. The value of the items was estimated at possibly more than $1,000.

Police responded to the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road on July 29 after a man reported that someone had removed a backpack containing paperwork, financial documents and a pair of shoes from the rear seat of his vehicle.

The victim reportedly told police he’d locked the vehicle before entering the mall, but police reported no signs of forced entry.

DUI

Riverside police charged a 24-year-old Stone Park man with drunken driving after a police officer stopped his gray Subaru for allegedly speeding at 78 mph in a 40-mph zone while northbound on First Avenue from Waubansee Road on July 21 just before 1 a.m.

The officer conducted a traffic stop at the entrance to Zoo Woods and reported that the driver appeared intoxicated, stumbling as he walked after being asked to exit his vehicle. He also reportedly failed field sobriety tests and admitted to drinking alcohol prior to getting behind the wheel.

A 26-year-old Brookfield woman faces DUI charges after a Riverside police officer reported observing her silver Hyundai traveling at 15 mph in a 30-mph zone and “weaving excessively” and striking the curb with both passenger side wheels while southbound on Harlem Avenue from Lawton Road on July 22 at about 12:30 a.m.

After reported failing field sobriety tests, police said a breath test revealed the woman’s blood-alcohol content to be .255, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08.

Riverside man out $1,500 in email scam

A Riverside man went to police on July 25 to report that he’d fallen victim to a scam in which someone posing as a close friend emailed that he needed money to help him buy equipment he couldn’t afford due to expenses from caring for his ill wife.

The messages started on July 15, the victim said, with his “friend” saying he had laryngitis and couldn’t talk on the phone. Throughout the week the two emailed back and forth, with the “friend” saying his wife had been diagnosed with cancer. He asked the victim to purchase $1,500 in gift cards and then disclose the redemption codes via email.

Police later confirmed the man’s actual friend had not asked him for any money via email.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, July 21-30, 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.