North Riverside police responded to Spins Café, a video gambling parlor at 9261 Cermak Road, on Aug. 19 at about 6:45 a.m. after a security employee for the gaming machine vendor called to report the business had been burglarized.

According to police, the glass front door was smashed and one gaming machine had been broken into. The machine should have contained about $1,500, according to the police report, but the cash box had been removed.

Catalytic converter theft spree in Brookfield

Brookfield police reported that nearly a dozen vehicles had their catalytic converters cut from their undercarriages during a two-night spree on Aug. 13-14 and Aug. 15-16.

All but one of the thefts occurred on the north end of the village, including two from the 3100 block of Sunnyside Avenue, two from the 3600 block of Grand Boulevard, and one each from the 3100, 3200, 3300 and 3500 blocks of Park Avenue; the 9000 block of Sheridan Avenue; and the 4200 block of Deyo Avenue.

The cars targeted for the thefts were three Fords, three Kias, three Hyundais from model years 2006 to 2018 and one 1995 Buick Regal.

Cars vandalized at dealership

Four vehicles, which appear to have been burglary targets, were damaged overnight on Aug. 19-20 at Zeigler Ford, 2100 Harlem Ave. in North Riverside, police have reported.

A manager at the business told police that security guard noticed that four vehicles – three on the west side of the property and one in the southeast corner – had their passenger side windows shattered.

A paver brick was found on the floorboard of one vehicle, and at least one glovebox had been left ajar, but nothing was reported missing from any of the vehicles.

A resident of the 3600 block of Prairie Avenue, Brookfield, called police on the morning of Aug. 15 to report that someone had broken out the rear window of her 2018 Kia, which was parked at the rear of the property. Nothing was missing from the vehicle.

Auto theft

A North Riverside woman went to police on the morning of Aug. 15 to report that her 2017 Chevy Cruze, which had been parked overnight in the driveway of her home, had been stolen.

According to the police report, the victim indicated the keys may have been left inside the vehicle. Also inside the car was a purse containing three credit cards. Police later reported that the stolen vehicle had been reportedly used in a retail theft on Aug. 15 at 7:35 p.m. in Hodgkins.

A resident of the 2200 block of 12th Avenue, North Riverside, called police on the morning of Aug. 19 to report that someone had stolen a white 2019 Nissan Maxima, which had been parked on the street overnight.

Police reported that a portion of a window was found lying on the street where the car had been parked.

Vehicle break-ins

A resident of the 4100 block of Maple Avenue, Brookfield, called police Aug. 14 to report that someone had entered her possibly unlocked vehicle, which was parked on the street over the weekend, and stole backpack containing a laptop computer.

North Riverside police responded to the 2300 block of 5th Avenue last week after a resident called to report that two Bose speakers valued at $600 had been removed from his vehicle, which had been left unlocked. 

A security camera reportedly captured video of a man walking toward the victim’s driveway at about 10 p.m. Aug. 14 and then walking away.

A resident of the 2300 block of 4th Avenue, North Riverside, called police on the morning of Aug. 15 to report that his vehicle had been burglarized overnight.

The vehicle had been left unlocked and parked in his driveway on the night of Aug. 14. The following morning, the interior of the vehicle appeared to have been ransacked and the victim’s wallet was missing.

The victim’s debit card was reportedly used at a gas station in Summit between 3 and 4 a.m. on Aug. 15.

Police also reported interviewing a man who claimed to live in Summit in the vicinity of a garage that had been burglarized in the 2200 block of 5th Avenue on Aug. 15 at about 2:05 a.m.

The man was sleeping inside a vehicle about a block away, but police could not definitively connect the man to the garage burglary.

Speeding stop leads to weapons charge

Tramell Meeks, 35, of Chicago, faces a felony weapons charge after police found a loaded 9 mm pistol in the center console of his black Ford Explorer during a traffic stop for speeding on Aug. 20 at 1:50 a.m.

Police pulled Meeks over for allegedly driving at 70 mph in a 35-mph zone while northbound in the 200 block of First Avenue. After arresting Meeks for that offense, police searched the vehicle prior to towing it and discovered the weapon. 

According to police, Meeks’ Firearm Owner’s ID had been revoked and the Cook County State’s Attorney approved charging him with possession of a firearm with a revoked FOID, a Class 3 felony.

Suds in the fountain

Despite entreaties by Brookfield’s president this spring, someone dumped soap into the fountain at Veterans Memorial Circle just after midnight on Aug. 14, leaving the water-filled basin to foam up like a laundry tub.

Security cameras at that location reportedly showed two people, both apparently teenagers walking southbound to the fountain from the 3400 block of Grand Boulevard. They approach the fountain and one appears to dump a substance into the water while walking counterclockwise around the fountain.

The fountain begins to immediately foam up and the two leave the scene northbound.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Aug. 13-20, 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