Oak Park Crime Briefs: Holiday Heist, Assault Rifle Arrest, Copper Caper

Parolee busted with assault rifle

An Oak Park man recently released from prison was caught carrying an assault rifle after police were called to his home, authorities said.

Regimond Maxwell, 20, was part of a group of five or six people standing outside in the 1100 block of South Wisconsin Avenue around 2 a.m. Saturday Nov. 27, police said.

Authorities were called to the area when a witness overheard someone from the group say "they were going to go inside the house and get a gun," said Cmdr. LaDon Reynolds with the Oak Park Police Department.

Officers arrived at 1148 S. Wisconsin Ave. and found the front door "unlocked and open" then entered the home, where they found Maxwell holding an assault rifle, Reynolds said.

Reynolds said Maxwell dropped the weapon and ran toward the back of the home, but was caught. He was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and a parole violation.

Records show Maxwell was paroled Nov. 17 from downstate Vienna Correctional Center after he was arrested in April in connection with an aggravated robbery charge.

Residential burglary

Thousands of dollars worth of electronics were stolen from an Oak Park home during a Thanksgiving Day burglary, police said.

The theft took place sometime between 1:30 p.m. and about 6 p.m. Thursday at a home in the 800 block of South Harvey Avenue, according to a police report.

Among the items stolen were an Apple desktop computer, a Sony PlayStation 3 video game console, an iPod Touch and a digital camera. The electronics were valued at a combined $6,700.

Police said the thief or thieves may have gained access through a first-floor window on the home's south side.

Copper theft

Police in Oak Park are investigating a commercial copper theft that resulted in a $10,000 loss.

The copper coils, located on air compressor located on the west side of a building at 201 Lake St., were stolen sometime between Nov. 23 and Nov. 24, police said.

The building is owned by Pacific Management, 20 S. Clark St. in Chicago, according to a police report.