Homeless Man On Purple Bike Breaks Into Home To Shower: Will County Blotter

JOLIET, IL - It's not often that the Will County Sheriff's Department investigates an incident like this one in Crete. On the 4th of July, a homeowner returned to check on his vacant property in the 26000 block of South Woodlawn Avenue only to find a stranger inside taking a shower. The man contended he was homeless. He put on his clothes and then rode away from the house on a purple bicycle, sheriff's reports show.

That same date, in a completely unrelated criminal incident also around Monee, sheriff's deputies investigated gunshots in the 4200 block of West Offner Road. Someone apparently fired a gun toward a house, puncturing a hole in the swimming pool liner.

On July 5, sheriff's deputies investigated a stolen vehicle in the 2200 block of West Richton Road in Crete. A 2011 Toyota Camry was taken from the driveway. On that same date, sheriff's reports show, unknown thieves broke into three vehicles in the 2000 block of Crete's West Richton Road, stealing a wallet from one of the vehicles.

Over in Frankfort, two men entered the Bootleggers Liquor store in the 7700 block of West Francis Road on July 5, stealing six bottles of Hennessey Cognac and two bottles of Martell Cognac. They walked out of the door without paying, sheriff's reports show. The two left in a black Ford Focus hatchback.

On July 7, 93-year-old woman in the 13000 block of South Mulberry, Plainfield, found herself the victim of a con artist scam, sheriff's reports indicate. The woman got a phone call the previous day from a man who told her that her grandson, who lived in Utah, was in an accident and needed $3,000. The woman then went to her nearby Target store and bought two gift cards worth $1,500 each, just as the caller asked her to do. The woman called back and gave the man the gift card numbers, reports show. It turns out that the man then called her back again, this time on July 7, under the guise of needing even more money for her grandson. Luckily, this time, the woman's daughter had stopped over and realized it was a hoax. Will County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene. They got on the phone with the scammer. He quickly hung up, reports show.

On July 9, somebody broke into the ARP Asphalt Paving Inc. business in the 14000 block of South Budler Road in Plainfield, puncturing four tires on a trailer.

Over in Joliet, sheriff's deputies investigated a vehicle theft in the 900 block of Eunice on July 7. Someone opened the garage door and stole a 2011 Dodge Charger, reports reflect.

In Lockport, sheriff's deputies interviewed a 33-year-old man who told them that on July 4th while he was outside in the 2100 block of California Avenue, he heard something hit his vehicle. He also felt something hit his right thigh. Turns out, a bullet struck his vehicle and grazed his thigh, reports show. However, the man refused any medical attention, the sheriff's department stated.

The following day in Lockport, July 5, people heard gunshots around 1:20 p.m. and then saw males with masks running fast on Barrett Street toward Dellwood Avenue. They jumped into a red, four-door vehicle and the vehicle sped away. However, other witnesses told sheriff's deputies about a blue Chevy Tahoe traveling along Nobles at high speeds. Police later discovered three bullet holes inside a parked vehicle in the 200 block of Nobles, but nobody was harmed. "Joliet Police reported similar shooting incidents which potentially involved these two vehicles in their jurisdiction," sheriff's reports reflect.

On July 6, in Lockport, someone trespassed the front yard of a house in the 300 block of Hughes and stole two American Thin Blue Line flags their flagpoles, reports show.

On July 10, also in the Lockport area, three ATVs were stolen from a yard in the 16000 block of West Bruce Road. The stolen vehicles were a 1994 Yamaha Blaster 200cc, a 2001 Yamaha Basnshee 350cc and a 2003 Yamaha Banshee 350cc, reports reflect.