Suspects Nabbed At Bus Stop After Bar Break-Ins In Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn: Cops

OAK LAWN, IL — A call for a suspicious vehicle led to a chase with an adult and juvenile after both were tied to a pair of bar burglaries in Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park early Tuesday morning, Oak Lawn police said.

Jaren Loggins, 19, of Chicago is facing two counts of felony burglary. A 15-year-old boy was charged accordingly as a juvenile. Both are from Chicago.

Around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, police checked out a call of a suspicious vehicle parked near 95th Street and 55th Avenue in Oak Lawn. Officers found an unoccupied but running black Hyundai Elantra parked in the alley. The car’s steering column was peeled back and a milk crate full of alcoholic beverages was found on the ground near the car.

Aware of the burglary that occurred at a bar in Evergreen Park just moments before discovering the suspicious vehicle, officers checked the premises at BJ McMahon’s Bar and Grill, 5432 S. 95th St., Oak Lawn. There, police discovered the glass front door to the bar had been shattered.

The bar was empty and officers contacted the owner. It was determined that $150 was taken from the cash register and attempts were made to force open a safe and gaming machines inside the bar. Left behind were a hammer and mask believed to have been left behind by the, police said.

Officers entered the bar, found it to be empty, and contacted the owner. Together they discovered that $150 was taken from the cash register and attempts were made to force open a safe and the video gaming machines located inside the business. A hammer and a mask believed to have been used by the offenders were also recovered.

While investigating the scene at BJ McMahon’s, 911 calls came in of two suspicious people running through yards in the 9500 block of West Shore Drive. Officers found a man, later identified as Loggins, and the 15-year-old boy waiting at a bus stop near 95th Street and Parkside Avenue. Police said both matched descriptions of two people seen trespassing through residential yards on West Shore Drive and the 9700 block of Central Avenue.

Officers from both the Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park police departments worked together reviewing video evidence linking Loggins and the teen to the burglaries, police said. The Hyundai Elantra was also determined to be stolen from the 6100 block of Newgard Avenue in Chicago.

Oak Lawn police said Loggins and the teen both made voluntary statements admitting to their involvement in both burglaries.