2 Arrests Over Taxi Break-Ins, Drugs, DUIs: Evanston Crimes

EVANSTON, IL — The following information comes from the Evanston Police Department as a record of police activity and of those arrested by the police. An arrest is not an indicator of guilt, and criminal charges — which represent merely accusations by the state — are often dropped or reduced. Readers are reminded that all persons named are innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

Evanston police were dispatched to the 1900 block of Jackson Avenue for a report of a burglary in progress around 8:18 p.m. on Thursday, July 13. A teenage resident had heard the dog barking. When he went to check, he found a man he recognized from the neighborhood rummaging through one of the bedrooms. The teen confronted the intruder, who fled the home.

Responding officers found the suspect, who they identified as Creed McGee, in a yard across the street from the home. Police said the point of entry was found to be the rear window, but nothing was found to be missing from the home.

McGree, 52, of the 1900 block of Jackson Avenue, was charged with one count of felony residential burglary.

BURGLARY TO MOTOR VEHICLE

Around 1:43 a.m. on Thursday an Evanston police officer was flagged down by a citizen near Howard Street and Callen Avenue. The citizen told police he had just seen a man break out the window and remove items from a taxi that had been parked on Howard Street near Seeley Avenue.

The officer checked the vehicle and found the front passenger side window had been broken. Police said the officer located a person in the area that matched the description given by the witness and saw the person was carrying a tablet. When the officer tried to stop the person, he fled on foot but was taken into custody in the 2000 block of Birchwood Avenue in Chicago. Police identified him as Kenneth T. Hamner, 30, with a last known address on that block.

Police located the owner of the taxi, who identified the Samsung tablet and a watch that Hamner had in his possession as having been stolen from inside the cab. Hamner was charged with one count of felony burglary to a motor vehicle.

DUI

Jose Elias Rodriguez, 52, of the 4300 block of North Shakespeare Avenue in Chicago was arrested in the 300 block of Dodge Avenue on July 14 at 5:33 p.m. and charged with driving under the influence.

DOMESTIC BATTERY

Frank N. Toussaint, 38, of the 700 block of Dobson Street, was arrested at 10:10 p.m. on July 14 in the 700 block of Dobston Street and charged with domestic battery.

BURGLARY TO VEHICLE

Evanston police were on patrol around the 900 block of Howard Street when they heard the sound of breaking glass at about 2:42 a.m. on Saturday, July 15. When they checked out the sound they saw a man reaching through the broken front passenger window of a taxicab parked on Howard Street. Police stopped the man, who they identified as 39-year-old Laron T. Robinson of the 6400 block of North Hoyne in Chicago. They found him to be in possession of two cell phones, over $6 in loose change and three white rocks. A similar rock was found inside the cab with the broken window, police said.

When police contacted the vehicle's owner, a 58-year-old Chicago man, he said he wished to press charges against Robinson. One of the cell phones police said they found in Robinson's possession was also discovered to have been stolen during a burglary in the 7400 block of Ridge Boulevard in Chicago.

Robinson was charged with one count of felony burglary to a motor vehicle for the Howard Street incident, and Evanston police turned over the evidence regarding the Ridge Boulevard incident to the Chicago Police Department.

POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

Eric James Haberkorn, 21, of the 5100 block of Grove Street in Skokie, was arrested in the 3600 block of Oakton Street on Sunday, July 16 and charged with possession of a controlled substance, a felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, various traffic offenses, including driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

According to Evanston police, the incident began when a witness in the 500 block of South Boulevard reported hearing a loud crash and seeing three parked cars struck. The witness told police a white vehicle was seen speeding away westbound.

Police said an officer near Oakton Street and McCormick Boulevard saw a white vehicle appearing to have fresh damage to its front and pulled it over. The officer smelled alcohol on the driver, identified as Haberkorn, and said he had bloodshot eyes and spoke with slurred speech.

According to the criminal complaint, an unmarked pill bottle containing one pill of Xanax was found in Haberkorn's possession.

Evanston police said a glass pipe used to smoke drugs was recovered and Haberkorn's blood alcohol content registered at 0.08.

DRUG PARAPHERNALIA

Ruben A. Quezada, 29, of the 8600 block of Ferris Avenue in Morton Grove, was arrested in the 3600 block of Oakton Street on July 16 at 6:17 a.m. and charged with possessing drug paraphernalia and obstructing identification, both misdemeanor.

Evanston police said he was the passenger in the white vehicle that Haberkorn was driving. Police said he had a marijuana grinder in his lap, and when he got out of the car he tried to throw the grinder under the car. Quezada also initially gave the arresting officer a false name.

According to Evanston Police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan, there was 8 grams of cannabis found in the back of the vehicle driven by Haberkorn in which Quezada was a passenger, but there were no associated charges.

DUI

Kenrick Roy Warburton, 46, of the 1600 block of Darrow Avenue in Evanston, was arrested in the 2900 block of Simpson Street on July 16 at 12:52 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence.

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