Disgruntled Ex-Employee Trashes Pancake House: Wilmette Crime Reports

WILMETTE, IL — The following information comes from the Wilmette Police Department as a record of incidents reported to the police and those recently arrested. Readers are reminded that an arrest is not an indication of guilt and criminal charges are often dropped or reduced. Everyone is innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

INCIDENTS

THEFT

A guest at a hotel in the 3200 block of Old Glenview Road reported someone stole a wristwatch from his room between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sept. 24

CREDIT CARD FRAUD

Someone purchased more than $1,000 worth of tools at Home Depots in Glenview and Mount Prospect using a Wilmette resident's credit card number sometime on Aug. 30.

DECEPTION

On Sept. 29 between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., a resident in the 2200 block of Greenwood reported getting a call from someone she thought was her grandson who told her she needed to pay $1,800 for him to be bonded out following a DUI traffic crash. She told police she sent a Moneygram to New Jersey before speaking to her grandson and learning he had not been arrested and she had been scammed.

IDENTITY THEFT

A resident in the 300 block of Wilshire Drive reported that someone had been taking items from his mailbox between Sept. 15 and Sept. 29. He told police one of the items taken was a debit card and he had discovered the theft after noticing he was missing $1,000 from his bank account.

RETAIL THEFT

On Sept. 28 at 6:24 a.m., a suspect described as a 45-55-year-old black man wearing a dark hooded jacket over a gray hoodie, gray pants and white athletic shoes reportedly went behind the service desk at a Jewel grocery store in the 400 block of Green Bay Road, stealing 14 cartons of cigarettes worth $1,400. Police said the man is known to store employees who work in the early morning hours, and the theft was not reported until 1 p.m.

THEFT

On Sept. 27 around 2:30 p.m., someone reportedly ran into a dry cleaner's and tailor's shop in the 1100 block of Central Ave, took cash from the register and ran out to a car parked on 12th Street. An employee told police she had heard the door chime but was not standing at the counter at the time. She then looked into a surveillance mirror and noticed someone running toward the front door along the wall.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD

Someone made unauthorized credit card purchases using the information of a resident of the 900 block of Seneca Road between 9 a.m and 5 p.m. on Aug. 30. The resident's card had been used at Home Depots in Glenview and Mount Prospect.

FRAUD

A resident of the 900 block of Illinois Road reported that there had been three fraudulent charges made to her Chase Visa account between Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 using her daughter's name.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

Someone tagged three CTA cars with the letters "RIZE," "DAD" and "TD2F" between 8 p.m. on Sept. 22 and 4 a.m. on Sept. 25 at the Linden CTA station.

BURGLARY

Someone entered an unlocked garage in the 700 block of Linden Avenue between 8 p.m. on Oct. 2 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 3 and stole two bicycles, a turquise Flight line bicycle and a silver Trek mountain bike.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

Someone damaged a 2017 Porche Panamera parked in the 2700 block of Hawthorne Lane between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sept. 30. There were two small dents that that may have been caused by BBs found in the rear driver side area.

IDENTITY THEFT

Someone opened an Ace Hardward Rewards Visa card online using the identity of a resident of the 1100 block of Ridge Road between Sept. 14 and Sept. 26. It was not immediately known if any transactions were made on the account.

THEFT

Police were called to a restaurant in the 1100 block of Wilmette Avenue for a report that a theft had just occurred. Police were told a thief had just taken $470 in cash from the register before running away north on Wilmette Avenue before turning west of in an alley. Police searched the area but did not find any suspects.

THEFT

A resident of the 1600 block of Washington Avenue reported that her son's unlocked bicycle had been stolen from the side door of their home sometime during the overnight hours of Sept. 24-25.

THEFT

On Sept. 29, a resident who had just bought a home in the 1100 block of Chestnut Avemie reported that someone stole the patio table and chairs off of the home's front porch.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

Police were called to a pancake house in the 100 block of Green Bay Road for a report that a recently-fired employee was causing a disturbance. The manager told police the employee squeezed ketchup on the tables, chairs and floors, poured drinks on the floor, put coffee in the ice machine and broke a coffee pot. The disgruntled ex-pancake house staffer was reportedly gone by the time police arrived.

ARRESTS

Christoper E. Morris, 21, of the 200 block of Catalpa Place, turned himself in at the Wilmette Police Department on Sept. 28 at 6:33 a.m. on an active bond forfeiture warrant that had been issued on Sept. 25.
Related: Neighbors' Calls Lead To 2 Arrests, Barricade Situation For Wilmette Man

Jerome C. Roberts, 31, of the 13100 block of South Saint Lawrence, Chicago, was arrested on Sept. 28 at 12:37 p.m. after police were called to a CVS in the 1500 block of Sheridan Road for a report of a retail theft in progress. The suspect had left the store carrying over-the-counter drugs, donuts and baby formula valued at about $332. A man matching the description provided to police was seen in the area of the store, and when cops told him to stop he fled and disobeyed police orders. The suspect, identified as Roberts, was arrested on a parkway in the 0-100 block of Robsart Road in Kenilworth. He was charged with one felony count of retail theft and one misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

Winfred Barnett, 52, of the 7000 block of South Marshfield Avenue, Chicago, was arrested Sept. 30 at 6:12 a.m. after police were called to the Jewel grocery store in the 400 block of Green Bay Road and told Barnett may have been involved in the theft of 14 cartons of cigarettes two days earlier. Police spoke to Barnett and learned he had an active Cook County warrant and took him into custody. Investigators determined he was involved in the previously reported cigarette theft and Barnett was charged with felony theft.

Davina Sanchez, 37, of the 5800 block of North Artesian Avenue, Chicago, was arrested Sept. 30 at 11:02 a.m. and charged with drunk driving after she was pulled over for a number of traffic violations in the 200 block of Lake Avenue. She had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath and an open beer in the center console. She reportedly refused to perform sobriety tests and a a breathalyzer.

Ricardo Najera, 40, of the 2200 block of North Menard Avenue, Chicago, was arrested Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Bed, Bath and Beyond in the 3200 block of Lake Avenue. The store manager flagged down an officer in the parking lot and pointed to a man entering a car in the lot, telling the cop that the man had just walked out of the store with electronics inside his card without paying for them. The officer stopped and detained two people in the vehicle while police checked out surveillance video. Police said the video shows a man who looked liked the car's passenger walking out of the store without paying for the three items in his cart, which were worth $429.97. The driver was released without charges, the passenger, Najera, was charged with one count of misdemeanor retail theft.

» Last week's Wilmette Police Blotter: Rogaine Stolen, Counterfeit Cash Pays For Pizza, $2 Bills Grabbed: Sept. 19 - Sept. 25

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