Shorewood Prowler Targets Women At Mariano's Shopping Center On Route 59, Joliet Man Arrested: Complaint

SHOREWOOD, IL — One day after the Shorewood Police Department filed a criminal complaint and obtained an arrest warrant for 66-year-old Louis Tomasino, the village's police officers captured the Joliet senior citizen and booked him into the Will County Jail in connection with a series of vehicle thefts targeting women shopping on the Route 59 corridor.

"Following the issuance of an arrest warrant, Shorewood detectives utilized automated license plate reader ALPR technology to locate Tomasino’s vehicle. Officers subsequently conducted a traffic stop and took Tomasino into custody without incident," Shorewood Police Chief Jason Barten announced in a statement to Joliet Patch. "At the time of his arrest, Tomasino was on pre-trial release in accordance with the Illinois SAFE-T Act, following a previous arrest by the Joliet Police Department for similar offenses in September.

"The cooperative investigation demonstrated the Shorewood Police Department’s commitment to the use of technology to ensure the safety of our community."

Shorewood police charged Tomasino with two counts of burglary, unlawful possession of someone's debit card, two counts of theft and two counts of unlawful possession of someone's credit card. Joliet's police department also has a different criminal complaint against Tomasino as well. The Shorewood crimes involving Tomasino happened on Aug. 24, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, the arrest warrant noted.

According to Shorewood Police Chief Jason Barten's press release he sent to Joliet Patch's editor, the Shorewood Police Department arrested Louis J. Tomasino, 66, of Joliet, on Wednesday, "following a comprehensive investigation into a crime spree that began in late August. Through the collaborative efforts of Shorewood patrol officers and Detectives, Tomasino was charged with multiple offenses, including burglary, unlawful possession of another's credit card, felony theft and misdemeanor theft.

The criminal complaint from the Will County Courthouse indicates Tomasino committed his crimes at the Mariano grocery store's parking lot at 950 Brook Forest Avenue. On Aug. 24, Tomasino entered one woman's car at the Shorewood shopping center "with intent to commit a theft," the complaint alleged. The complaint noted that the Joliet man stole a First American Bank debit card from the same female victim "without the cardholder's consent and had the intent to use it or sell it, or to transfer it to another person other than the issuer or the cardholder."

One of the theft charges indicates Tomasino exerted or obtained control over the same woman's purse at the Mariano's business "with the intent to deprive the owner permanently of the use or benefit of said property."

The other charges involve allegations that Tomasino was back at the Mariano's a week later, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, when he "knowingly entered a motor vehicle" of another female victim "with intent to commit a theft." The complaint indicates that the Joliet man stole a Chase Freedom credit card as well as a Chime credit card from the woman "without the cardholder's consent" and obtained cash from the same female victim, adding, "and the value of the property exceeded $500 but did not exceed $10,000."

Separately, Tomasino was charged by the Joliet police with burglary and two crimes of unlawful possession of a credit card for an incident that happened on Aug. 28 at 1481 Route 59 — which is the Walmart parking lot; people often refer to it as the Shorewood Walmart even though it's really in the city of Joliet. That case was filed at the courthouse on Sept. 23 and the grand jury returned its indictments last week.

In that case, the complaint indicates, Tomasino entered into another female victim's car to commit a theft that he obtained her Mastercard and her Citi Platinum Advantage card.

This week's arrest warrant indicates Tomasino comes from the 8200 block of Joliet's Woodview Avenue. He turns 67 years old in November.

Tomasino was turned loose from the Will County Jail shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, jail logs show. He was scheduled to have his appearance in Courtroom 405 of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak for her daily 9 a.m. court call.