Early morning restaurant burglaries at Harlem Ave. strip mall
An unidentified man was captured on surveillance video as he broke into the J. J. Fish restaurant in the 300 block of Harlem Ave. around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 15 by breaking through the roof and kicking through the ceiling tiles. The suspect appeared to hang from the ceiling and drop into the dining room of the restaurant where he cleaned out $1 and $5 bills and most of the change from the cash register. The video depicted the man walking out the front door of the restaurant.
Later that morning, police discovered a shattered front door at the Subway restaurant in the same strip mall around 5:30 a.m. Surveillance video showed a male with a light-colored hoodie sweatshirt breaking the door with a screwdriver around 2:30 a.m. Using his sleeves to prevent leaving fingerprints, the man in the video removed cash from an open cash register drawer and exited the restaurant. Loss was estimated at $200.
Pocketful of pills
A 23 year old man from Frankfort was arrested around 5 p.m. on Oct. 20 at Thornton’s gas station after police ran the license plate of a 2005 black Ford Focus and found it to be stolen from Chicago. The car was not, in fact, stolen — and the man’s mother confirmed it was hers — but during a safety patdown, police recovered 25 yellow Hydrocodone and 89 green Xanax pills from the man’s pocket. He allegedly told police he buys stolen prescription drugs regularly in Forest Park. William Dyer was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Residential burglaries
Someone shattered the window of a 2010 Toyota Corolla parked in a garage in the 800 block of Hannah overnight on Oct. 17. Missing was $12 in change.
Someone entered a residence in the 600 block of Thomas by prying open the front porch door between 9 a.m. and noon on Oct. 19. Miscellaneous jewelry and a passport were stolen.
Later that evening, residents of the 7600 block of Monroe told police they found a garbage can beneath an open bedroom window, and a rear door open. Removed from the residence were an LCD TV and a Nintendo Wii. The offender left a black knit cap at the scene.
Someone entered a residence in the 400 block of Marengo through an unlocked bedroom window between Oct. 18 and 19. Missing were two cameras, a Toshiba satellite laptop computer and a Pan Digital tablet computer. Loss was estimated around $2,000.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Oct. 16-20, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in the report has only been charged with a crime.
-Compiled by Jean Lotus
