Carjacking At Gunpoint Reported At Gas Station: HP Blotter

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The following information comes from the Highland Park and Highwood police departments and public records as a record of incidents reported to the police and of those arrested by police. Criminal charges represent accusations by the state that are often dropped or reduced. Updated information may be available from the Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Everyone arrested is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

INCIDENTS

THEFTS

• Someone stole a piece of construction equipment valued at $6,300 prior to 4:30 p.m. on May 26. from a work site in the first block of Lakewood Place.
• Someone stole a bicycle from the 2000 block of St. John's Avenue between June 1 and the afternoon of June 3.

SHOPLIFTING

• Someone stole $60 worth of baked goods from Honey's Hot Chick, 1791 St. Johns Ave., prior to 10:30 a.m. on May 29.
• Around 7 p.m. on June 7, two unidentified shoplifters stole various items from the CVS Pharmacy, 2000 Skokie Valley Road.

BURGLARIES

• Thieves stole three leaf blowers, worth more than $700 combined, from two work trucks and a trailer in the 100 block of Maple Avenue prior to 9:45 a.m. on May 29.
• Someone stole multiple pieces of construction equipment from a work truck in the 1700 block of Lake Cook Road on the night of May 28 or morning of May 29.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY
Two unidentified thieves cut the locks to multiple self-storage lockers at Simply Self Storage, 1500 Old Deerfield Road, during the night of May 26 or morning of May 27. It was not known what was stolen at the time of the report.

ATTEMPTED COMMERCIAL BURGLARY
Someone tried to break into the medical cannabis dispensary Elevele, 1460 Old Skokie Valley Road, around 2:30 a.m. on June 2. The front door was damaged but there was no sign anyone managed to make it inside.

AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HIJACKING
At 7:40 p.m. on June 5, a person sitting alone in the back seat of a car parked at the Mobil gas station at 2580 Skokie Valley Road reported a man wearing a white shirt and jeans and armed with a handgun walked up to the car. The passenger got out of the car, police reported, and the gunman got in and drove the car away. Police said neither the car nor the thief had been found as of Monday.

ARRESTS/CITATIONS

Gustavo Mendoza, 36, of the 4000 block of Kedvale Avenue, Chicago, was arrested around 10 p.m. on May 30 and and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of a controlled substance following a traffic stop at the intersection of Route 41 and Deerpath Road. Officers called to a complaint about a motorist also issued Mendoza citations for operating an uninsured motor vehicle, failure to signal when required, illegal transportation of an open container of alcohol, failure to signal when required and speeding.

Al Preus, 50, of the 2000 block of St. John’s Avenue, Highland Park, was arrested around 10 p.m. on May 31 and charged with felony criminal damage to property after officers dispatched to a report of a smashed window on a building in the 1800 block of Green Bay Road determined he was responsible.

Jorge Velasquez, 57, of the 800 block of Corona Court, Highland Park, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop at the intersection of Winthrop Road and Heather Lane. He was also issued a citation for improper lane usage.

Earlier: Drunken Driver With Warrant And No License Crashes In HP; Shoplifters Target Health and Beauty Items; Highland Park Woman Charged with Violating Court Order: Highland Park Police Blotter, May 18 to May 24

Stay Patched In!

• Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Highland Park news.
• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Check out the Events Calendar for what’s going on
• Like Highland Park Patch on Facebook
• Patch Mobile: Get app for iPhone and Android