'Secret Shopper' Scam, Obscene Defacement, Theft Of Alcohol, Drugs: Wilmette Crime

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. All persons named are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt.

INCIDENTS

THEFT

Sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. on June 18, someone cut a cable lock and stole an FX Hybrid bicycle valued at $367 from the Metra station in the 700 block of Green Bay Road.

BURGLARY

Sometime between 4 p.m. June 17 and 2 p.m. June 19, someone entered an unlocked garage in the 200 block of Wood Court and stole a white Harper Coaster bicycle valued at $200.

FRAUD

A resident of the 400 block of 5th Street reported a check scam on June 21 at 1:22 p.m. The resident was offered a new job as a secret shopper and received a check for $2,395.27. Following instructions, she deposited the check in her account, kept about $350, and deposited the rest into a Bank of America account originating in Texas. The resident later discovered the original check was fraudulent.

RETAIL THEFT

An employee of Carson's in the 3200 block of Lake Avenue called police at 8:46 p.m. on June 21 to report five women or girls in the store who the employee believed were about to grab merchandise and run. Police said the women fled in an unknown vehicle in an unknown direction, setting off security sensors, before police arrived. The store was not immediately able to determine the extent of its loss.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

Someone vandalized the side of a vehicle with a series of obscene sexual phrases and anatomical drawings in the 300 block of Oak Circle between 7 p.m. June 21 and 6:45 a.m. on June 22.

FORGERY

Someone cashed three fraudulent checks, worth $14,427.33, against a business in the 1200 block of Wilmette Avenue between May 26 and June 9.

AUTO BURGLARY

Sometime between 10 p.m. on June 22 and 10 a.m. on June 23, someone entered a vehicle in driveway in the 2800 block of Birchwood Avenue. Northing was immediately reported missing.

THEFT (OF DRUGS)

Someone stole hydrocodone and Valium pills from the medicine cabinet of a resident of the 200 block of 5th street on June 20. The house is currently for sale and was being shown to a prospective buyer, police were told.

THEFT (OF PACKAGE)

Between 4:46 p.m. and 11 p.m. on June 23, the contents of a UPS package delivered to a home in the 2800 block of Lake Avenue were stolen for a reported loss of $150.

IDENTITY THEFT (AT MEDICAL FACILITY)

While a resident of the 3100 block of Greenleaf Avenue was in Europe, someone used their identity at a medical facility, it was reported on June 26 at 12:31 p.m.

THEFT (OF BIKE)

A blue Schwinn mountain bike was stolen from the CTA station in the 300 block of Linden Avenue between 5 p.m .June 9 and 5 p.m. June 13.

CRIMINAL DEFACEMENT

Someone spray painted a picture of a penis onto the northwest corner of a house on the 1000 block of Linden Avenue between 9 p.m. June 16 and 9 p.m. June 18.

FRAUD

Someone made numerous online purchases with the credit card number of a resident in the 1500 block of Washington Avenue between June 21 and June 26. Fraudulently bought items were shipped to Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Illinois.

RETAIL THEFT

At 8:12 p.m. on June 26, an employee of the Jewel Osco in the 1500 block of Sheridan Road called police to report three boys stole alcohol and left the area. They were described as white and the vehicle in which they fled was described as a gray minivan. Responding police were unable to locate the vehicle.

ARRESTS

WARRANT ARREST

Nicholas A. Davila, 25, of the 6100 block of Hollaran Lane in Hoffman Estates, was arrested at 8:43 p.m. on June 22 at a Dominos Pizza on the 300 block of Ridge Road. Police were dispatched to a report of an unwanted subject. When they arrived, the store manager told them a man had come in the store claiming that he had left his credit card behind earlier in the day. He told the manager he had spoken to an employee on the phone who told him he could come and pick it up. When the man arrived for his card, the manager was unaware of the incident and who the man had spoken to. Davila told police the same version of events. When police ran his identity through the law enforcement database, they found he had a bond forfeiture warrant for his arrest as a result of failing to appear in DuPage County court for a charge of driving under the influence of drugs. Davila was arrested without incident, posted bond and was released.

RETAIL THEFT

Five people were cited for shoplifting after a group of nine people (including two juveniles) were stopped and consented to a search of their bags after an alarm went off while hey exited. Police were dispatched to a Walgreens in the 800 block of Green Bay Road for a possible retail theft in progress. Police said stolen items were recovered and five of the nine people, all from Chicago, were issued local ordinance citations. They include a 15-year-old girl, a 19-year-old woman, and men aged 22, 25 and 35.

DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE

A 16-year-old Chicago resident was arrested at 12:15 a.m. on June 25 and charged with driving without a license after a traffic stop in the 200 block of Washington Avenue. Police also cited the driver and his 17-year-old passenger, also of Chicago, for possession of cannabis.

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