Ex-Employee Accused Of Stealing Safe Full Of Cash From Former Employer

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL — An Alsip man is accused of breaking into his former place of employment and stealing a safe full of cash. Keith Watson, 42, is facing a felony burglary charge.

Palos Heights police took a report Wednesday morning from Take 5 Oil Change, 12861 S Harlem Ave. Employees told officers that someone had kicked in the glass windows of the garage door and burglarized the office sometime during the overnight hours.

Video collected by investigators captured a man being dropped off and picked up by a “unique vehicle” that police said was identified as belonging to a former employee. License plate reader cameras captured the ex-employee’s vehicle leaving the community just after the purported break-in, police said.

A neighboring police department had contact with the vehicle an hour after the Palos Heights break-in for an unrelated matter. Police said photo evidence from the encounter showed the ex-employee being present during the burglary. The ex-employee, later identified as Watson, was taken into custody on suspicion of burglary. He appeared Wednesday afternoon for a hearing at the Bridgeview Courthouse.