A burglar got into a kitchen on the 800 block of Circle Avenue on the night of June 21, but he didn’t take anything but bananas from a kitchen fruit basket.
According to the house security footage, the burglar sat on the porch for about three hours. He then went in through the unlocked side door, which led into the kitchen, triggering the burglar alarm. The victims locked themselves in a bedroom and waited for police to respond.
The security camera showed the alleged perpetrator stood by the door “for a short period of time,” took bananas from the fruit basket and left through the same door. By the time the police arrived, he was gone.
The victims confirmed that nothing else was missing, They said they would press charges if the burglar is located.
Vehicle thefts
Forest Park saw several unsuccessful attempts to steal cars on July 23, and one successful theft discovered on the morning of July 24 – and all but one incident involved a Kia.
In all the attempted thefts, one of the car windows was broken and the steering wheel column was peeled, and nothing was taken from the cars. The break-ins included a blue 2020 Kia Sedan parked at a Desplaines Avenue address, a grey 2014 Hyundai Sonata, a grey 2020 Kia of unknown model, and a black 2016 Kia Soul, all parked at Roosevelt Road addresses.
The theft happened on the 500 block of Elgin Avenue. The victim, who was visiting from Georgia, parked her black 2016 Kia Soul in the building parking lot, and discovered that it was missing at 9 a.m., and saw shattered window glass in the parking space where she left it.
Revenge vandalism
A man who got kicked out of the Forest Park CTA terminal for trying to jump the turnstiles came back long enough to throw a brick through a glass window.
According to the CTA employees on the scene, on June 24, at around 6 p.m., a man tried to jump the turnstiles. The CTA employees escorted him out. A short time later, the man came back, threw a brick through the glass window of the terminal’s south entrance and ran away, heading south on Desplaines Avenue.
The police were unable to find anyone matching the man’s description in the area.
Hacked direct deposit account
A Park District of Oak Park employee who lives in Forest Park discovered that someone hacked her account on the online platform the park district uses to make a direct payroll deposit, stealing most of her paychecks.
When the victim checked her bank account on June 24 at around 3 p.m., she discovered that only about 10% of her last two paychecks were deposited. She contacted the platform, which reported that someone transferred almost $800 to an account in Wilmington, Delaware, then transferred it to a personal Paypal account. The platform indicated that they were unsure when the hacking occurred.
The victim changed her account password and security information, and she will be getting her salary in physical checks until the situation is resolved.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, June 20-26, 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 Igor Studenkov
