Gravediggers used heavy equipment to violate graves at Waldheim, a Jewish cemetery. When police arrived at 1400 Desplaines Ave. about 11:18 a.m., Jan. 17, they found exposed caskets. Officers said something similar to a back hoe must have been used to break the frozen ground and excavate the caskets, which were opened. A shroud was removed from one and remains were exposed.
LinkedIn scam
A 64-year-old Forest Park man received a private survey link from LinkedIn from someone he believed was an associate, according to a police report filed Jan. 12. The message linked to a company that offered to pay people for testing merchandise. The man completed an online survey, offering up personal information, including his address, and soon received a letter and a fake check for $2,980.25. Believing the check was real, the man followed the letter’s instructions, depositing the check and buying two new iPhone 6s from an Apple store in Oak Brook. Per the letter’s instructions, the man shipped the new iPhones to an undisclosed address in Houston, Texas. After shipping the phones, the man learned the check had bounced. He was unable to get in contact with the company again.
Attempted robbery
A Chicago man exited Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., about 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 12 and walked to his car. According to the police report, he got into his vehicle, sat in the driver’s seat, leaving the door ajar. A man with a semi-automatic handgun then pushed his way into the vehicle through the driver’s side and said he was with the police. The gunman pushed the victim out of the car and slid out of the car with him. The offender then fled on foot to Portillo’s. He ran westbound across Desplaines Avenue into the cemetery, according to video footage from Walmart Loss Prevention.
Police recover stolen vehicles
Forest Park police recovered a stolen car about 12:02 p.m. in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on Jan. 13. Officers were dispatched to investigate a suspicious vehicle parked at 154 N. Menard Ave. in Chicago, according to the police report. After running the vehicle’s registration, police realized the car was taken during an aggravated vehicular hijacking, Jan. 10, in Forest Park. The car, which had fresh damage to its front passenger door, was towed to the Forest Park Police Department.
Chicago police recovered a second car stolen from Forest Park, and arrested three suspects. Forest Park police contacted the 87-year-old owner that his vehicle was found about 12:15 a.m., Jan. 14. At some point between 2 p.m., Jan. 13 and midnight, Jan. 14, three individuals reportedly stole a car idling at the corner of Lehmer Street and Ferdinand Avenue. The owner’s grandson started the car about 2 p.m. to charge the battery and returned 20 minutes later. He said he might have forgotten the keys inside the vehicle and left the doors unlocked.
Idling car stolen
Someone stole a vehicle idling outside Andrea’s Restaurant about 3:34 p.m., Jan. 15, according to the police report. A female employee of the restaurant parked her Toyota Camry and left her keys inside the car, while she stopped in to work at 7427 Roosevelt Road. While she was in Andrea’s, she saw a tall man, possibly in his 20s or 30s, wearing dark clothing, enter the car.
The woman ran out and banged on the Camry’s windows, but the offender drove west on Roosevelt Road. The woman said the keys to Andrea’s were on the same keyring as the stolen car keys.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Jan. 15-22, 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.
