Car, left unattended for moments, stolen

An 81-year-old man called police on May 5 about 9:50 p.m. to report that his 2003 Honda Accord had been stolen from the parking lot at Subway, 1215 Harlem Ave.

According to the police report, the victim said he left his vehicle parked and running, with the keys in the ignition, in a parking spot close to Subway. The man said he went inside to close up the store and when he came back outside, he saw the car leaving the parking lot and traveling northbound on Harlem Avenue.

A witness described the offender as a black male between 20 and 30 years old with a skinny build and wearing a black leather jacket, a white T-shirt, dark jeans and a dark beanie hat.

According to police records, it’s the sixth time since Jan. 1 that a vehicle left unattended and running has been stolen from a parking lot. Three of the incidents took place at the Thorntons gas station, which is also on Harlem Avenue. One took place in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven gas station at Roosevelt Road and Desplaines Avenue, and one took place near a construction site on Lexington Street near Harlem Avenue.

U-Haul trailer goes missing

The general manager of U-Haul, 801 Harlem Ave., called police on May 1 to report that on April 3 someone rented a 10-foot trailer and was supposed to return it on April 5. 

Since that time, the person who rented the trailer has not returned numerous calls and letters seeking its return.

Credit card fraud

Forest Park police responded to Kagan and Gaines Music Co., 7655 Roosevelt Road, on May 4 after an employee called to report that someone had used a fraudulent credit card to purchase $2,000 in music gear in April.

The music store received notification from a company that handles credit card fraud cases for Chase Bank that the card used by the suspect was counterfeit. Among the items purchased with the card were an electric guitar, a guitar amplifier, a portable digital grand piano, a chromatic tuner, a Yamaha pedal unit, guitar strings and an instrument cable.

Vehicle break-ins

Police responded to the 400 block of Desplaines Avenue on the morning of May 4 after a resident reported that her vehicle was broken into overnight.

The victim stated she parked her vehicle in the lot just north of her building about 12:15 a.m. When she returned to the vehicle at 11:30 a.m., she discovered items from the center console and glove box strewn around the interior.

In addition, a pink jewelry box containing earrings valued at $2,000, a black Gucci sunglasses case valued at $300, and about $20 in cash were taken from the vehicle. Police did not report any signs of forcible entry to the vehicle.

An employee of a concrete company paving the alley in the 800 block of Marengo/Elgin contacted police on May 1 to report that someone had lifted items from one of the company’s trucks between 1 and 1:30 p.m.

A witness told the employee that he observed someone described as a black male in his 20s, about 5-foot-8, with a slender build and long hair tied in the back, and dressed in non-construction clothes, open the storage box of a truck before driving away in a white sedan.

The employee told police there have been numerous burglaries to his company’s vehicles. Another truck, he said, was missing a concrete saw valued at $1,200.

Bike stolen

Police responded to the 1000 block of Desplaines Avenue on May 4 after a resident called to report that her gray and white mountain bike, which was parked and locked outside the building, was taken between 1 and 3 p.m. The bike was valued at $96.

Package stolen

A resident of the 300 block of Circle Avenue contacted police last week to report that a package containing about $200 in men’s clothing had been stolen from the lobby of his building on April 29 between 11:15 and 11:30 a.m.

Turn it down, again

Forest Park police cited a 26-year-old man for a breach of the peace after responding to a complaint of noise from a unit at a building in the 7200 block of Jackson Boulevard on May 1 at 8:15 p.m.

Police reported having responded to the same apartment on multiple occasions about the same issue. The tenant reportedly is in the process of being evicted from the apartment.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, May 1-7, 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