Local Police Reports, Park Forest

Crimes of Opportunity: April Car Burglaries Unrelated, But Unsolved


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Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Three reports of car burglaries from April remain unsolved, but, according to police, appear to be unrelated. However, it does appear that these were crimes of opportunity, with vehicles left unlocked.

In the first instance, police were dispatched to the 100 block of Hemlock Street on April 24 at 7:58 AM to investigate a “delayed” report of a burglary from a motor vehicle. “Delayed” simply means the crime was not immediately reported.

The owner reported parking her vehicle at 6:30 PM in front of her unit. She left her wallet in the vehicle’s glove compartment and the doors unlocked. She told police she intended to return to the vehicle at a later time, but never did. When she went to her car the next morning, April 24, at 7:30 AM, she discovered the vehicle’s driver and front passenger doors to be closed but slightly ajar. She discovered that the glove box was left open and her wallet was missing.

In a second and apparently unrelated incident, on April 26 at 3:52 PM, an officer responded to the lobby of the Park Forest Police Department to investigate a delayed report of a burglary from a motor vehicle that occurred in the first block of Kodiak Street a resident reported that on the previous day at approximately 5 PM, he brought some groceries inside his home.

He left the doors to his vehicle unlocked. His wallet was in the glove box.

On April 26, at approximately 6:15 AM, he returned to his vehicle and noticed that his wallet was no longer in the glove box. He did not notice anything else to be missing or disturbed. He drove his vehicle to work and responded to the police department after work to report the incident.

On April 29 at 7:02 AM, an officer was dispatched to the 200 block of Towanda Street to investigate a delayed burglary to a motor vehicle. The officer with a man who said that on April 28, at approximately 3 PM, he parked his vehicle in his driveway, walked inside his residence, and never locked the doors to his vehicle.

On April 29, at approximately 6:45 AM, his daughter returned home from work and noticed that the front driver side door of the vehicle was open. She walked into the residence and asked her father why he left his vehicle door open. He replied that he did not leave his door open and his daughter walked back outside and closed the door for him. He later walked outside, opened the front driver side door, and noticed that a black pouch was missing. The pouch had contained approximately $25 in change, a round tire gauge, two battery chargers, and a set of keys. He also noticed that the door to his glove box was open.

Police have implored residents in the past to make sure their vehicles are locked. Also, in colder months, police have warned residents against starting vehicles and leaving them unattended while the vehicles warm up. The latter will also leave the door open for a ticket, so to speak. Vehicles with remote starters are exempt from that ordinance, provided the vehicles are locked when started.

Related: Police Plea With Residents To Lock Their Vehicles: Burglary Report


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