Two charged with burglary

Two men have been charged with residential burglary after police tracked their movements from the city to Brookfield to Forest Park on Feb. 28.

Michael A. Cordero, 27, and Juan P. Correa, 30, both of Chicago, were arrested by members of the Major Case Assistance Team (MCAT) task force in Berwyn, shortly after they reportedly burglarized a home in Forest Park.

MCAT officers began to conduct surveillance on a gold Jeep Cherokee, owned by Cordero, after the vehicle was captured on surveillance video leaving the scene of residential burglaries in Brookfield on Feb. 16 and 21.

Investigators traced the vehicle to Cordero, who has an extensive criminal history, including arrests for burglary, according to police.

At the time of his arrest, Cordero was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections for a 2015 theft conviction. In 2010, Cordero was sentenced to three years in prison after being convicted of two counts of burglary in Cook County.

On Feb. 28, police trailed Cordero’s Jeep Cherokee from Chicago to Brookfield, where it circled a block several times about 10 a.m. before leaving around 10:12 a.m.

Officers followed the Jeep Cherokee to Forest Park, where the vehicle began circling the 900 block of Thomas Avenue about 11 a.m. As the Jeep left the area, an officer observed that a glass rear door to a home in the 900 block of Thomas Avenue had been shattered and rooms inside the home had been ransacked, though nothing was reported missing.

Police stopped the Jeep about 11:50 a.m. in the 1500 block of Wesley Avenue in Berwyn, where they arrested Cordero and Correa. Burglary charges are pending against the two men in Forest Park.

Unlocked, running SUV stolen

A 53-year-old man called police on March 2 about 6 p.m. to report that his 1997 Nissan Pathfinder had been stolen from the parking lot in front of the Thorntons gas station mini-mart at 601 Harlem Ave.

The victim told police he parked the SUV in front of the entrance to the mini-mart and left the unlocked vehicle running with the keys inside while he went into the store. Moments later, he turned around and found that the vehicle was gone.

Surveillance video showed an older style Ford Focus hatchback parked at one of the gas pumps. A man exited the passenger side of the Ford, walked over to the Nissan, entered the driver’s door and drove off. The red Ford followed behind as both vehicles left the area eastbound on Jackson Boulevard.

Email scam

An 83-year-old Forest Park man was scammed out of $1,500 after he was contacted by email in December by an unknown person asking if he wanted to make money working as a “secret shopper.”

The victim agreed and was sent a cashier’s check for $1,820 along with instructions on how to proceed. The victim was told to deposit the check and then buy three $500 pre-paid debit cards, take photos of the front and back of each and email the pictures back.

Several days later, the victim’s bank contacted him to say that the cashier’s check had been returned. The victim had been trying to obtain a refund on the debit cards but was unsuccessful, prompting him to go to police.

Suspected drug dealers nabbed

On Feb. 27, police charged 36-year-old Downers Grove resident Evan J. Kenney with several felony drug offenses, including intent to deliver controlled substances.

Police pulled over Kenney for driving on a suspended license. During a search of the vehicle subsequent to Kenney’s arrest, police reported finding numerous syringes, seven vials of suspected steroids, 150 prescription pills and almost $2,500 in cash.

On March 2, police charged Donald R. Crouch, 30, of Cornell, and Brian K. Kobiela, 32, of Dwight, with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver after stopping their 2003 Hyundai Sonata at Harlem Avenue and 16th Street, about 4:30 p.m., because a passenger wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Police initially arrested the 19-year-old female driver of the vehicle after they located three zip-top baggies of suspected heroin from her bra. A police officer reportedly saw her stuff the drugs into her bra.

As Crouch and Kobiela were about to be released from the scene, the woman reportedly stated that her two companions were also holding drugs. Police searched Kobiela and Crouch and reportedly recovered 53 grams of suspected heroin. 

Police also recovered $330 in cash. The driver was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

On March 3 about 1:20 p.m., police arrested Jiovonni G. Moorison, 34, of Lafayette, Indiana, and charged him with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver following a suspected drug transaction in the 900 block of Harlem Avenue.

Police arrested Moorison after a brief foot chase during which he reportedly discarded his jacket on a fence in an alley. According to the police report, police found 11 grams of cannabis in a jacket pocket. Police also reportedly recovered 31 grams of heroin hidden on Moorison’s person.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Feb. 27-March 5, 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