Elmhurst Man Charged In Home Invasion

ELMHURST, IL – In the last few days, Elmhurst police handled cases involving a home invasion, open burning, porch piracy, a homeless family, retail theft, DUI, a fugitive driver and a found bike. Here is information from the latest Elmhurst police reports:

Home invasion

• Nicholas M. Romano, 36, of Elmhurst, was arrested about 9 a.m. Tuesday on charges of home invasion and residential burglary. Police said they interrupted a burglary in progress. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital. Patch wrote a story about the incident earlier this week.

Open Burning

• A 43-year-old Algonquin woman was cited about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday on a charge of open burning. Police said the woman was burning a box of documents in the road at First Street and Highland Avenue. She was released.

Porch piracy

• A package was stolen about 2 p.m. Tuesday from a front porch in the 700 block of North Geneva Avenue. The same person was believed to have stolen a package minutes later at a house in the 300 block of East Fullerton Avenue.
• A delivery driver told police that he had just dropped off a package about 4 p.m. Wednesday at a house in the 200 block of Elm Avenue and noticed a suspect get out of a car and steal the resident's package. An investigation is pending.

Homeless family

• Elmhurst police responded about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Extended Stay America hotel, 550 W. Grand Ave., for a woman and her children who were homeless and seeking resources. An officer contacted the state Department of Children and Family Services, which took over the investigation.

DUI

• A 52-year-old Palatine man was arrested shortly before midnight Monday at Route 83 and Interstate 290 on charges of DUI, illegal transportation of alcohol and improper lighting. He was taken to the police station and then released.

Retail theft

• A 34-year-old Glen Ellyn woman was arrested about 2 p.m. Wednesday at Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, on a retail theft charge. Police said the woman concealed merchandise in her purse. She was released.

Fugitive driver

• An officer tried to stop the driver of a gray Honda Civic about 3 a.m. Monday at Roosevelt Road and York Street. The driver sped away, last seen heading north on Westmore-Meyers Road from Roosevelt. Shortly after, Villa Park police found the car at Motel 6. The car was towed pending an investigation.

Theft

• Two signs were stolen between Saturday and Monday from a front yard in the 100 block of Melrose Avenue.

Bike found

• A red, white and black Specialized Hotrock children's bicycle was found Monday at Wilder Park, 175 S. Prospect Ave. An Elmhurst Park District employee brought the bike to the police station, where it was put into evidence for safekeeping.

Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and people charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.