A woman was arrested Wednesday for breaking into her ex-girlfriend’s North Riverside home and assaulting her.

The woman, who works at Rush Oak Park Hospital, had a phone argument with her former partner, who broke up with her and blocked her as a contact. 

The woman then went to the victim’s house on 12th Avenue and smashed the side door window with her hand. 

She entered the home without permission and confronted the victim, who tried to lock herself in a room for safety. 

Woman grabbed the victim’s sweater collar and hit her on the face, bruising her left eye. 

The victim called her mother, who alerted the police. 

A North Riverside Police Department officer arrived at the scene and separated the two.

The woman has been arrested on charges of a Class X home invasion.

Woman scammed by fake kidnappers

A woman received a phone call from two men who claimed to have kidnapped her mother and demanded a ransom of $290. 

She sent the money via MoneyGram to a person in Mexico, but later found out that her mother was safe and not involved in any drug deal. 

She also reported that she saw a man test driving a police car and thought he was a kidnapper, but he turned out to be an employee of Brookfield Auto Care. 

Brookfield police officers who investigated the case found out that the phone number used by the scammers was registered to a voice over internet protocol address and was not active. 

VOIP is a technology that lets user make phone calls over the internet instead of phone lines or cellular networks.

They also checked the name of the recipient of the MoneyGram and found no records. 

They advised the woman to contact her bank and dispute the transaction, and to call them if she saw any suspicious people.

Man stole hats from Lids

A man was arrested Friday for stealing six hats worth $197.50 from Lids at North Riverside Park Mall. 

The man hid the hats under his jacket and walked out of the store without paying. 

The store manager alerted the mall security, who detained him and brought him to the mall security office.

The police arrived and found out that he had a suspended license and an Illinois Department of Corrections warrant. 

He also had more than 10 felony retail theft convictions in his background. 

He was handcuffed and taken to lockup, where he refused to have his Miranda rights read. 

He was charged with felony retail theft by enhancement and held for bond court. 

Five women stole from beauty store, threatened the manager

Four women took hair dye and other products from Sally Beauty Supply last week. 

The store manager told North Riverside police that the women took the items Oct. 24 and that two of them came back to the store on the same day and tried to steal more items. 

She reported that she confronted them and they ran to a black Kia Soul, where two other women were waiting. 

She also said that one of the women called the store and threatened to fight her outside. 

The police checked the license plate of the Kia Soul and found out that it belonged to an expired Pontiac. 

An investigation is ongoing.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Brookfield and North Riverside police departments, Oct. 23-30, 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. 

Compiled by Amina Sergazina