Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- There are weeks when there are few or no burglaries reported. In the first week of January only one, this to a motor vehicle was reported to the police. In the second week of this month, there were more. During the week of January 17 to January 23, there were burglaries reported.
We will list them again and indicate when these reports include arrests and charges. These reports cover the first half of this month.
Burglary Reports Through January 16, 2023
Vehicle Damaged and Burglarized
A vehicle on Sycamore Drive was reported damaged on January 4 at 6:55 AM. The man said he returned to his home the evening before, January 3, 2023, between 5 PM and 6 PM. The man said he parked his car and locked the doors. At 6:30 AM he saw that the vehicle was damaged.
The passenger side front and back windows were broken out and the glass was located outside of the vehicle, according to police. The glove compartment was open and all the contents were thrown on the floor inside the vehicle. The man said $30 cash and his work ID were stolen from the vehicle. The steering column was not damaged and no other damage was located on the vehicle, according to police.
Juvenile Charged with Burglary
Police responded to the area of Hemlock Street and McGarity Road on January 11 at 7:22 PM to investigate a report of criminal damage to property. The caller said that two men broke into a black vehicle parked on the street, and ran into the “co-ops” wearing all black, with backpacks, and hoods up.
The caller reported seeing two men “hovering near the vehicle” and that the vehicle had a broken window.
Police dispatched a unit to the area in an attempt to locate the two men. Police met a woman who confirmed that she was the caller and that the vehicle with the damage did not belong to her. She said she was in the area taking her dog for a walk when she heard a “splash” that sounded like glass breaking and saw the two men in the area.
The woman said that the vehicle’s alarm was going off and both men ran away, according to the report.
A responding officer observed a dark-colored silver and black Kia Forte parked on the east side of Hemlock Street facing northbound. The rear driver-side window was broken out with glass shattered below where the window was located, according to police.
The officer saw what appeared to be a single-use purple latex glove laying amongst the shattered glass on the ground, according to police.
A portion of the steering column was also peeled and laying on the floorboard of the front driver side seat, according to police.
The officer located the owner of the vehicle.
According to police, a different officer responded to the area to assist in searching for the suspects. While in the area of CVS Pharmacy, located at 1 Main Street, the officer saw the two males matching the description given by the caller. The officer attempted to make contact with the two but they allegedly fled on foot and a foot pursuit ensued, according to police.
The officer apprehended one of the two, a teenage juvenile, in the area of the US Postal Office, according to police. The caller later made a positive identification of the juvenile as one of the males who was near the vehicle.
The juvenile was then taken into custody and transported to the Park Forest Police Department.
Police contacted the juvenile’s grandfather. The grandfather was his guardian, according to police.
Police interviewed the juvenile after the juvenile’s grandfather arrived, according to police.
Police also found ammunition inside the juvenile’s backpack, according to the report.
The juvenile was processed and charged with burglary, possession of ammunition without a valid FOID, burglary, possession of burglary tools, attempting to receive/possess/sell a stolen vehicle, and resisting/obstructing a peace officer.
Burglary to Home
On January 13 at 10:33 PM, an officer was dispatched to Nanti Street regarding a delayed burglary report. Another officer also responded to the scene.
The complainant said that at approximately 8:30 PM, he and his girlfriend were in the 400 block of Nauvoo Street where he was working on another one of his properties. The man said he asked his girlfriend to leave because they were arguing and he no longer wish to argue, according to police. The woman said she would leave as soon as he gave her the keys to the home on Nanti Street so she could grab her phone charger.
The man said the two of them had stayed at the home on Nanti Street the past two nights, another property that he owns.
The man said she took his key ring which has his truck keys and Chicago apartment keys on it and drove away in a car, leaving him at the home on Nauvoo Street.
The man said since she took his keys he had to walk to the home on Nanti Street.
When he arrived at that home, he saw the following items damaged:
- A living room Vizio TV screen was heavily damaged, estimated value one thousand $200.
- A black electric dual recliner had several stab wounds in the leather, estimated total value of $2000.
- An HP laptop in his bedroom was also damaged, estimated value of $500.
- The glass and table in his spare bedroom was shattered, the estimated value of $100.
- Fresh bath tile which he had just laid was also hit with some sort of blunt object. The man stated it would cost him at least $1000 to fix and replace the tile.
While describing the damage, the man further alleged that the woman took his Dior book bag from his bedroom which also had some credit cards inside.
He estimated the Dior bag to be valued at $1500.
He said he was unsure as to which credit cards were in the back. Police determined that the woman has a statewide failure to appear warrant out of Pike County, Illinois.
About Police Reports
Please note that we repeatedly say “according to police” in these reports and often use “allegedly.” We are not asserting in any way that those police arrested and charged committed any offenses. We report on what is in the reports that the police furnish to us. As those accused are innocent until proven guilty, the burden is on prosecutors and police to prove all alleged crimes.
eNews Park Forest has continuously published the addresses of those arrested and will continue to do so. 5 ILCS 140/2.15 states that the governmental body (for these reports, the Police Department), shall release information on those charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
Presumption of Innocence
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. The law presumes all those whom police arrest are innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest not to remove items from the public record from publication. Suppose you find your name in the police reports. Our policy is that we will only add information relevant to the final disposition of the case at hand, e.g., “Mr. Smith was subsequently acquitted,” “Mr. Smith entered a guilty plea,” or “All charges against Mr. Smith were subsequently dropped.” We will do so upon receiving and verifying proof of such disposition.
We do not strike, “unpublish,” or delete news.
According to police, officers captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras at the respective scenes. All Park Forest police officers wear body-worn cameras. Officials typically abbreviate these devices as BWC in the reports.
We encourage persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters, including narcotics or gang activity, to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.