An 82-year-old man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, who walked away from his Riverside home in July before being found safe in a Berwyn park, died Sept. 1 after walking away again and suffering a heart attack at an Oak Park hospital.
A family member reported the man missing from his residence in the 400 block of Herrick Road on Aug. 31 at about 9:20 p.m. Police searched for him in the immediate area using a bloodhound and in Proksa Park in Berwyn, where he was found after walking away from home in July.
Unable to find him nearby, Riverside police contacted surrounding agencies about the missing man. Chicago police later notified Riverside that they had located the man in the 1400 block of North Parkside Avenue in Chicago.
Officers had been called there for a report of a burglary in progress, but quickly observed the elderly man was confused. Chicago paramedics transported him to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.
On Sept. 1 at 4:40 p.m., Riverside police learned the man had gone into cardiac arrest while in the emergency room at the hospital and died.
Alleged package thief arrested
Brookfield police charged a 42-year-old Brookfield man with theft after he allegedly stole a package from the front porch of a home in the 9200 block of Monroe Avenue, placed it in the basket of a tricycle-style adult bike and then pedaled away on Aug. 31 at about 5:05 p.m.
The victims told police they had been notified that a Yeti cooler valued at about $215 had been delivered to their home at about 1 p.m. that day.
Someone who witnessed the theft called police, who observed a man matching the description of the suspect, along with a tricycle parked nearby, at a residence nearby in the 3400 block of Madison Avenue.
Police didn’t recover the cooler, but the witness identified the suspect as the alleged offender and police took him into custody at about 5:40 p.m.
Cops: Drunk man enters
former home
Riverside police charged a 49-year-old Berwyn man with criminal trespassing on the evening of Sept. 2 after he reportedly walked into a house in the 100 block of East Burlington Street and was wrestled to the ground by the homeowner who held him down until officers arrived.
Initially, the call came in at about 5:55 p.m. as a home invasion. The man allegedly entered the home through the rear door and was confronted in the kitchen by the homeowner, who held him down on the floor until police arrived.
Police responding to the scene reported that that man was extremely intoxicated and learned that he had lived at the East Burlington Street address several years ago. He was so drunk, said police, that he returned to the house, believing he still lived there, forcing his way through the back door.
Riverside police said the man had been arrested 26 times previously.
Suspicious fire
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a suspicious fire that destroyed part of a wood fence and damaged some vinyl siding to a home in the 9000 block of 27th Street in Brookfield during the early morning hours of Sept. 3.
A neighbor getting ready to go to work at about 4:15 a.m. told police he noticed flames and smoke coming from the west side of the residence. At first the neighbor thought it might be a bonfire, but upon closer inspection he observed a section of the fence on fire and immediately knocked on his neighbor’s door to alert him.
The homeowner had doused the fire before emergency personnel arrived, but not before part of the fence was destroyed and siding on his home damaged. The homeowner told police that there were trash and recycling bins next to the fence, but that nothing in them was flammable.
Vehicle break-ins
Brookfield police responded to the 4200 block of Madison Avenue on the morning of Sept. 3 after a resident called to report that someone had entered two unlocked vehicles parked in the driveway of his home overnight.
Both vehicles were ransacked, with items strewn about the interior. The only things reported missing were a pair of sunglasses, cellphone cords and an owner’s manual.
Bricks through windows
A resident of the 3600 block of Blanchan Avenue called police at about 4:10 a.m. on Sept. 3 to report that someone had just thrown something through the windows of his home.
A police officer who was in the vicinity checked the area for suspects, but was unsuccessful. He then spoke to the homeowner, who showed him the two broken windows.
While investigating, the officer reported observing four landscaping bricks underneath the damaged windows. They had been removed from the landscaping in the front yard. The victim told police he had no idea who would do such a thing to his home.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 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
