Equipment stolen in auto body shop burglary

Thousands of dollars in auto painting supplies were stolen from ABRA Auto Body and Glass, 1045 Desplaines Ave., during a burglary that took place just after midnight on Dec. 20, police reported.

Surveillance camera video reportedly showed a man enter the property, possibly by jumping the fence, and look into the windows of the business before walking to the office door and breaking the glass to gain entry.

The offender was described as a black male wearing a black puffy jacket with an unknown white emblem on the upper left chest, dark jeans, black shoes and a black winter hat.

After gaining entry, the offender walked into a work area and took 17 items valued at more than $9,000. The man then exited the building possibly to a vehicle parked in the lot of a nearby apartment building. 

A resident of an apartment building in the 300 block of Desplaines Avenue called police on Dec. 21 to report that, sometime after 3 p.m. on Dec. 13, someone entered his apartment and removed a 40-inch Samsung television.

Items stolen from front porch

Police responded to the 800 block of Elgin Avenue after a resident called to report the theft of items from a package left on the front porch.

The victim said the delivery company confirmed delivery on Dec. 20 about 10:25 a.m., but when the man returned home at 3 p.m., two packages had been ripped open. One of the packages contained picture frames, and those were left behind. But two solar chargers, valued at $60 apiece, were taken from a second package. It’s not the first time items have been stolen from the porch, the victim told police, who advised him to have deliveries made to the rear of the house.

Retail theft

A 57-year-old Maywood man faces retail theft charges after he allegedly walked into Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., on Dec. 17 and walked off with a Sony television valued at about $400.

A security guard called police on Dec. 19 at 2:45 p.m. when the man reportedly showed up at the store again. The employee told police he recognized the man from security camera video.

Police arrived as the alleged offender was driving away from the store and detained him. The employee identified the man as the person who took the TV two days earlier.

The man, who reportedly has 16 previous theft convictions, denied being in the store in recent weeks. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office denied upgrading the theft charge to felony status.

Police also reported that at the time of the man’s arrest, there was an active warrant for his arrest from Cook County Sheriff’s Police.

Forest Park police cited a 34-year-old Chicago man with retail theft after he allegedly took a pair of Survivors Big Timber II work boots from a shelf at Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., on Dec. 21 at about 4:35 p.m. and then obtained a refund for the cost, as if he were returning a gift.

A security guard told police she saw the man enter the store empty-handed, take the boots and then walk to a cash register where he obtained a gift card in the amount of $65.74 as reimbursement for returning them.

He was detained by security after making the transaction, according to the police report.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Dec. 19-23, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

—Compiled by Bob Uphues