Woman Caught Trying to Scam Nordstrom: Cops

The following information is from the Northbrook Police Department. An arrest is not an indication of guilt.

BURGLARY

A homeowner in the 4100 block of Cardinal Court reported that when she returned home on Dec. 8 there was an occupied silver Jeep with yellow plates parked in her drive. A male, possibly Hispanic, 30 years old with slicked back hair apologized and said he was looking for a house for sale and drove off. The homeowner believed she saw three male subjects running from her back yard toward Sanders Road as the Jeep drove away. The victim entered her house and found her house was ransacked. Officers responded and located a basement window open and pry marks on the rear patio door. Initially the victim discovered that her jewelry was missing.

A victim in the 2000 block of Redwood Lane reported on Dec. 8 he returned home from work and observed a window at the rear of the residence open, a patio door unlocked and several rooms ransacked. Officers observed pry marks on a rear window and exterior screen which appeared to be the point of entry into the residence. The victim reported that video games and some currency he had in a bedroom were stolen by the offenders.

RETAIL THEFT

The store manager at Nordstrom Rack in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard and an employee observed two black men exiting the store without paying for merchandise at 4:47 p.m. on Dec. 9. The offenders entered the store and grabbed merchandise before running out to a waiting vehicle. The offender’s vehicle appeared to have been parked in the rear of the store near where employees generally park. Because the theft occurred so quickly the employees were trying to determine what merchandise was stolen.

A store employee at the Sunglass Hut in the 1500 block of Lake Cook Road reported that a black woman in her forties wearing a red jacket and grey sweatshirt left the store without paying for a $475 pair of Gucci sunglasses at 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 11. The offender appeared to wait until the store was busy and when the clerk looked around the offender and the sunglasses were gone.

RETAIL THEFT

A store employee at the AT&T Store in the 1500 block of Lake Cook Road reported that a male and female black offenders entered the business on Dec. 12 and stole two Ipad Air from the counter. The complainant reported that the man, 6’02”, 260 lbs with a distinctive tattoo on his neck distracted the sole employee while the woman 5’09”, medium build with red hair removed two Ipad Air’s and placed them in her purse. The Ipad were not for sale but were used by employees to assist customers. Each Ipad was valued at $800.

BURGLARY TO AUTO

Three burglary to auto incidents were reported in Northbrook on Dec. 10. One was in the 1400 block of Juli-Lyn, another in the 4200 block of Walters Avenue and one in the 3900 block of Walters Avenue.

Two more were reported on Dec. 11 in the 1500 block of Lake Cook Road.

Another was reported on Dec. 12, also in the 1500 block of Lake Cook Road.

THEFT

Whitney Adu-Mensah, 28, Chicago was charged with theft by deception at 4:38 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Nordstrom in the 100 block of Skokie Highway. The store loss prevention agent reported that they discovered that the defendant had reported several fraudulent returns of merchandise by customers and then placed the refunds on gift cards which she later used to purchase merchandise for herself. The defendant used receipts from legitimate transactions that a customer left behind and then conduct a transaction as if the merchandise had been returned to the store. She then placed the refund on gift cards which she used to purchase store merchandise for herself.

STOLEN VEHICLE

A victim in the 1000 block of Butternut reported that the family's black 2014 Mercedes SUV was left parked on the street in front of the residence between 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 14 and 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 15. When they awoke they discovered the vehicle was missing. The vehicle was discovered later in the morning in an alley on the south side of Chicago undamaged.