Homeowner Calls Cops On House-Sitter; 9 Identity Thefts: Blotters

WINNETKA, IL — The following information comes from the Glencoe, Winnetka and Northfield police departments as a record of police activity and incidents reported to the police. Criminal charges represent merely accusations by the state and are often dropped or reduced. Updated information may be available from the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Anyone arrested is innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WINNETKA

INCIDENTS

CRIMINAL DAMAGE
A resident in the 600 block of Pine Street reported that someone did $600 in damage to lights on the bushes at the front of their home sometime between Dec. 27 and Jan. 6.

IDENTITY THEFTS

• A Rosewood Avenue resident reported on Jan. 10 that someone had used their identity to open an unauthorized Sears account and make $1,400 in purchases.
• A Spruce Street resident reported someone used their identity to open a Verizon account and make an unauthorized purchase and tampered with a Netflix account for a loss of $1,500.
• A Hill Road resident reported that someone used their identity to open several unauthorized Verizon accounts between Dec. 28 and Dec. 30 for a loss of $3,843.
• A Laurel Avenue resident reported that someone used their Macy's American Express card and made unauthorized purchases between Nov. 20 and Jan. 1 for a loss of nearly $2,800.
• A Poplar Street resident reported around 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 that someone used their debit card account to make several unauthorized purchases for a loss of $636.89.
• An Oak Street resident reported on Jan. 13 that they discovered on Jan. 3 that someone had opened up a Williams Sonoma store credit card account using their identity and made unauthorized purchases for a loss of more than $1,800.

ARRESTS

Taron T. Watts, 36, of the 100 block of North Austin Boulevard, Chicago, and Chaka S. Richardson, 32, of the 900 block of North Central Avenue, Chicago, were arrested around 9 a.m. on Jan. 11 at the Winnetka Police Department on a charge of unlawful possession of a credit card in connection with an investigation into a March 29 incident in the 500 block of Chestnut Court.

Bennett L. Cotton, 18, of the 500 block of Oak Street, Winnetka, was arrested around 9:30 a.m. and charged with domestic battery in connection with a report of a fight at his home.

GLENCOE

INCIDENTS

IDENTITY THEFTS

• A Euclid Avenue resident reported on the afternoon of Jan. 9 that someone had used their identity to open up accounts at Macy's, Best Buy, Target and Nordstroms and charged $900 at Macy's.
• A Greenwood Avenue resident reported on the morning of Jan. 10 that someone had used their identity to open up accounts with Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes and Synchronicity Bank without making any charges.
• An Old Elm Lane resident reported on the afternoon of Jan. 11 that someone had changed the email address associated with one of their retirement accounts. No fraudulent activity was reported.

JEWELRY THEFT
A resident in the 1100 block of Mayfair Lane reported around 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 14 that an unidentified thief had stolen various jewelry and gold coins with a combined value of under $10,000.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE
A resident in the 100 block of Old Green Bay Road reported shortly before 9 a.m. on Jan. 15 that someone had used an unknown object to damage their front and rear windows.

HOME BURGLARY
Someone broke into a home in the 100 block of Wentworth Avenue prior to the afternoon of Jan. 15. No further information was available.

ARRESTS

A 46-year-old Highland Park man was arrested around 4 p.m. on Jan. 11 and charged with excessive speeding – driving 65 mph in a 35 mph zone – following a traffic stop in the 700 block of Dundee Road.

NORTHFIELD

INCIDENTS

SOCIAL MEDIA SCAM
A Thackery Lane resident reported on the afternoon of Jan. 7 that someone had contacted them on Facebook with an officer of a large cash loan in exchange for a small down payment. The resident did not provide any money, reported the incident to Facebook and called the police.

PARKING VIOLATION
A resident in the 1900 block of Bosworth Lane reported that a homeowner in the area was parking vehicles in the parkway, damaging it. Officers contacted the homeowner and informed them of the village ordinance forbidding parking on the parkway.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE
Officers were called to the a parking lot in the 300 block of South Happ Road on the morning of Jan. 8 for a report that someone had knocked down a light pole during the prior overnight hours.

SUSPICIOUS HOUSE-SITTER
Officers were called to a home in the 2200 block of Drury Lane for a report from a homeowner that had seen an unidentified vehicle in their driveway on a remote camera system. Police spoke with the person at the home, who explained they were house-sitting and it was their car. The homeowner later confirmed the information.

GRANDSON SCAM
A resident in the 2300 block of Dorina Drive reported on the morning of Jan. 11 that someone had called claiming to be their grandson and asking for $8,000 to post bail. The homeowner was suspicious and hung up immediately.

ARRESTS

Christopher A. Palomar, 32, of the 6400 block of West Touhy Avenue, Chicago, was arrested around 9 a.m. on Jan. 3 and charged with battery in connection with a Dec. 16 incident that took place at the Sunset Ridge Country Club, 2100 Sunset Ridge Road.

A 32-year-old Grayslake man was arrested around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 and charged with speeding 26 mph or more over the limit after driving 56 mph in a 30 mph zone in the area of Willow Road and Three Lakes Drive.

Last Week: Arrests For Identity Theft, Trespassing: Glencoe, Northfield and Winnetka police blotters from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9

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