Police Reports: Rash of graffiti damage, residential burglary arrest, ruptured gas line fire, more

These reports were pulled from police summaries provided by departments in our coverage area (Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield, Kenilworth and Glencoe) during the week of Sunday-Saturday, July 4-10.

WILMETTE

There were two incidents of Illinois Department of Employment Services fraud filed between July 2-9 in Wilmette.

July 6

• A reported homeless individual was arrested for residential burglary after he allegedly entered an unlocked home between 8:45-11:30 a.m. in the 200 block of 16th Street and stole personal items. Police located the man at 2:28 p.m. in the 1500 block of Wilmette Avenue with the stolen items. He was taken into custody, transported to the Wilmette Police Department and held overnight for bond court.

July 4

• A resident’s personal information was used to file a fraudulent 2020 tax return.

July 3

• Twelve cars were reportedly spray painted overnight July 2-3 on Laramie Road, Riverside Drive, Illinois Road, Elmwood Avenue, Manor Drive and Frontage Road. A street sign on Laramie Avenue and a building in the 3600 block of Illinois Road were also spray painted. The Record’s question about the content of the graffiti was not answered by police as of press time.

• The North Branch street sign at Riverside Drive was reported missing.

June 28

• A car part was stolen off a vehicle overnight June 27-28 in the 800 block of Forest Avenue.

KENILWORTH

July 5

• An unlocked bike, reportedly worth less than $300, was reported stolen between July 3-5 from behind a residence in the 1000 block of Abingdon Avenue.

WINNETKA

July 2

• A cake was smashed against a vehicle’s window between 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Pine Street. There is no reported damage.

July 1

• A Chicago woman was arrested for identity theft, forgery and theft by deception following a reported incident on Jan. 29. According to police, a victim discovered unauthorized transactions, worth more than $3,000, from a credit account in January. She was identified as the suspect by police upon investigation.

June 30

• A resident’s personal information was used to make unauthorized money transfers, worth more than $5,000, from their Chase Bank account.

GLENCOE

July 5

• An unlocked bike, worth $3,000, was reported stolen in the 100 Block of Hazel Avenue.

NORTHFIELD

July 4

• A vehicle accidentally damaged a gas pump after pulling away while the nozzle was still in the vehicle at 4:20 a.m. at Breaking Point Shell, 1855 Willow Road. Officers facilitated an exchange of information between the driver and station attendant so arrangements could be made for repairs.

June 30

• Officers responded with crews from the Northfield, Winnetka and Glenview Fire Departments to a residence in the 0-100 block of Hibbard Road for a report that an excavation contractor had struck natural gas and electrical lines which caused a fire. Fire crews extinguished the fire, and NICOR and ComEd crews disconnected the utilities. The excavation contractor related a utility locating service had been at the site to mark utilities before work began, but no utilities were marked in the area where the incident occurred. According to police, the home was not affected or damaged by the fire.

June 29

• A resident received a text message from someone purporting to be from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office asking for personal information, in which the resident provided. They later discovered the text message was fraudulent. The case is under investigation.

• A resident received a phone call from a subject advising them that they had won several prizes in a contest, and that the resident would need to purchase gift cards to claim the prizes. The complainant disconnected the call and called police to have the incident documented.

The Record’s police reports are taken from police-activity summaries prepared by local police departments. Police Reports contain public information from preliminary reports and are not a complete listing of all police activity. The Record does not publish the names of individuals arrested for nonviolent crimes in preliminary reports unless the incident is a matter of public safety or has broad community implications. All arrestees are innocent until proven guilty.