Thief gets away with iPhone, but not for long
Police arrived at Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., about 5:10 p.m. on July 23, on a call that a man had stolen an iPhone.
A Walmart employee told police that Michael Taylor, 20, of Berwyn, had approached the counter and said he wanted to buy two iPhones. The man took them out of the locked box and put them on the counter. Taylor then told the employee he wanted to apply for a credit card to buy the phones. He handed the employee his state ID and debit card, and allowed him to use the stationary phone on the desk to call Walmart’s credit card company.
Taylor told the employee that the phone cord was broken. The employee left the desk to get another phone and, when he returned, one of the iPhones was gone. Taylor’s personal information was also deleted from the Walmart computer.
About two hours later, police were dispatched to a home on the 7600 block of Roosevelt Road. A man told police he knew where Taylor was and directed police to the 700 block of Desplaines Avenue.
Police apprehended Taylor and transported him to Walmart, where he was positively identified as the thief who stole the iPhone. He was charged with felony retail theft.
Traffic stop uncovers illegal weapon
Police spotted a vehicle traveling with an expired license at 3:35 a.m. on July 25 on the 700 block of Harlem Avenue.
Officers curbed the vehicle and smelled marijuana in the car. They searched the vehicle — along with the driver and passenger — and recovered a folding knife from the driver’s pants pocket. Passenger Brandon Devante Burrus, 26, of Maywood, told police he had a pistol on him. Officers recovered the gun from Buurus’ pants pocket, and Buurus handed them his ID and Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. He did not have a concealed-carry license. They also found a bag of what appeared to be knotted cannabis located inside a cigarette container in Burrus’ pocket.
Burrus told police he was on his way to his girlfriend’s house on the West Side of Chicago, and that he was carrying his gun because he feels unsafe in that neighborhood.
He received a felony for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and a local ordinance charge for possession of less than 10 grams of cannabis.
Serial shoplifter charged at Walmart
A Walmart loss prevention associate spotted a serial shoplifter enter the store, 1300 Desplaines Ave., at 7:22 p.m. on July 26.
The employee followed Maurice Harris, 28, of Chicago, around the store, watching Harris stuff approximately 31 items in his backpack. Loss prevention stopped him in the store, and determined the value of the items he stole was $338.
Walmart staff also provided police with a restriction-of-property form — dated on July 22 — that Harris signed, stating he trespassed on Walmart property. Store employees also told officer he had a history of trespassing at other Walmarts.
Harris told police he remembered signing the trespass order, but that he stole from Walmart to support his heroin habit of 10 bags daily.
He received a felony charge for retail theft, and a misdemeanor charge for criminal trespass to property.
Ulta thief captured at Green Line
Officers responded to Ulta Beauty, 7231 W. Lake St. in River Forest, at 3:16 p.m. on July 26, on a call that a woman had just stolen items from the store.
They searched the area and found a Chicago woman, 50, who matched the description of the thief, sitting on the first train on the Harlem/Lake Green Line stop.
The Chicago woman insulted police, then said, “What are you going to do?” They ordered her off the train. The Chicago woman responded by throwing an unknown item across the train car.
Police attempted to place her in custody, but the woman flailed her arms, punching an officer in the lip and spitting on her face.
They bent the Chicago woman over a storage bin on the CTA platform in an effort to restrain her. She kept spitting at police, lifted her foot and “mule” kicked officers from behind. She used her other foot to stomp on officers’ feet.
She was charged with aggravated battery.
Thief rides off with bikes
Sometime between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on July 24, a bike, valued at $400, was stolen from the Forest Park Blue Line stop, 711 Desplaines Ave. The victim said he locked his bike at the rack using a cable and key lock.
Sometime between 6:50 a.m. and 4 p.m. on July 24, someone stole a bike from the Forest Park Blue Line stop, 711 Desplaines Ave. The victim told police she locked her bike.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 22-28, 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.
Nona Tepper
