Gas Pump Scam, Retail Theft: Elmhurst Cops

ELMHURST, IL – In the last few days, Elmhurst police handled cases involving a gas pump scam, retail theft, parking deck problems, a fugitive driver and damage. Here is information from the latest Elmhurst police reports:

Gas pump scam

• A man told police that he was approached by a suspect who asked him for gas money about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The man pumped a large amount of gas into the suspect's car. The suspect then gave the man four pieces of gold jewelry in exchange for money. The report did not say whether the gold was fake, but the crime was listed as theft by deception. The suspect was described as a white man, 40 to 50 years old, 5-foot-10 and 210 pounds. He was driving a dark Jeep Cherokee with Virginia plates.

Retail theft

• A woman stole multiple containers of hand and body soap and Prilosec OTC without paying for them. It happened about 11 p.m. Friday at Jewel, 153 E. Schiller St. She was described as white, in her 20s, and wearing gray jogging pants and a gray shirt. An investigation is pending.
• A man filled two reusable bags with over-the-counter medications and batteries and left without paying for them about 6:30 a.m. Saturday at Jewel, 153 E. Schiller St. He was described as black and wearing a blue and red baseball cap, a white surgical mask, and a blue and white Boys and Girls Club shirt with "100" on the front and "Staff" on the back. An investigation is pending.

Parking deck problems

• An officer found a damaged fire extinguisher box shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday in the parking deck at 149 N. Addison Ave.
• About 6 p.m. Sunday, an officer found an activated fire alarm and a discharged fire extinguisher in the parking deck at 149 N. Addison Ave. The extinguisher had been completely discharged within the stairwell, and the cabinet was damaged.

Fugitive driver

• An officer tried to stop a car for tinted windows about 9 p.m. Saturday at York Street and Brush Hill Road. The driver sped away, last seen heading west on Interstate 88.

Damage

• An officer noticed writing on a gas pump about 1 a.m. Saturday at Thornton's, 476 N. York St.

Theft

• An employee at a business at 155 W. Industrial Drive told police that someone accepted an online food order from a delivery driver about 2:30 p.m. The employee ordered the food through a corporate credit card. The driver said the food was delivered and signed for by someone who gave the employee's name.

Suspicious

• About 5:30 p.m. Sunday, a person walked out of a black Acura sedan and walked to the back of Countertops Factory Direct, 925 N. Oaklawn Ave. A person at the business tried to speak with the suspect, who then entered the car and left the area.

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.