Dozens Of Car Burglaries Reported: Wilmette Police Blotter

WILMETTE, IL — The following information comes from the Wilmette Police Department as a record of police activity and those arrested by police. Criminal charges represent merely accusations by the state and are often dropped or reduced. Anyone named below is innocent unless their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

INCIDENTS

CRIMINAL DAMAGE
Police were told on April 2 that someone threw rocks through multiple windows of a home under construction in the 900 block of Greenleaf Avenue.

THEFT
A resident of the 2400 block of South Meadow Drive reported that someone tried to scam them by sending a fraudulent check with an extra $1,000 over the asking price of an elliptical trainer offered for sale on Craigslist.

FRAUD
A resident of the 400 block of Vista Drive reported someone made $69,760 in unauthorized withdrawals from their checking and savings accounts between March 14 and April 2.

FRAUD
A resident of the 800 block of Hibbard Road reported on March 4 that someone made more than $3,000 worth of fraudulent charges on their debit account between Jan. 1 and April 1.

APRIL 8-10 CAR THEFT/BURGLARIES
One unlocked car was stolen and seven burglarized during the overnight hours of April 8 to 9. The car was stolen from the 1000 block of Elmwood Avenue. Car burglaries were reported in the 400 block of Washington Avenue, the 900 block of Chestnut Avenue, the 1000 block of Elmwood Avenue, the 1300 block of Gregory Avenue, the 1400 block of Wilmette Ave and the 1600 block of Walnut Avenue.

A witness may have seen the burglars in the act. A resident of the 700 block of Elmwood Avenue reported having seen a suspicious vehicle around 2:24 a.m. that morning on their block. Someone got out and started trying to open locked doors of cars parked along the south side of the side. When the resident turned on an exterior light, the suspicious person got into one of the waiting vehicles and left headed east on Elmwood.

The following night, burglars got into 22 unlocked cars parked in driveways and the street. Keys, garage door openers, bags, cases and other items were reported stolen.

Locations of reported incidents:

ARRESTS

A 31-year-old Chicago man was arrested and charged with drivign with a suspended license and no insurance following a traffic stop around 5:43 p.m. on April 4 on Illinois Road at Thornwood Avenue.

Joyce N. Watson, 38, of the 2400 block of Gary, Indiana was arrested by Chicago police on a Wilmette retail theft warrant connected to a 2015 incident at the Walgreens in the 3200 block of Lake Avenue. She was in custody for minor traffic violations when Chicago cops noticed she had an active arrest warrant issued by the Wilmette Police Department.

Desiree M. Maurer, 56, of the 6700 block of Columbia Avenue in Hammond, Indiana was arrested at 6:54 p.m. on April 9 and charged with driving while intoxicated. An officer reported a green van exited the northbound Edens Expressway at Lake Avenue and committed several traffic violations between the exit ramp and West Lake Plaza. The driver failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.148, nearly twice the legal limit.

» Last Month: ATM Skimmer Found; Road Rage Battery; DUI Rollover: Wilmette Police Blotter, March 18 - April 2

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