Crime & Safety

City Centre Benches Trashed, Jackalopes Appear and Scammers Approach Residents at their Homes

Elmhurst police report suspicious circumstances and property damage.

Suspicious Circumstances

A resident of the 400 block of Webster told police that between 7 and 8 p.m. July 27 two men did some work on her chimney and charged her $60. The victim said she believes this may have been a gypsy scam. The suspects showed up in a shiny black pickup truck with a rack near the cab. One was about 5-foot-9-inches tall and heavy set, the other was tall and thin.

A resident on the 500 block of West Armitage told police that a man approached him several weeks ago while he was mowing the lawn and asked for money because he was locked out of his house. The victim said he was very personable, and he gave the man $10 in cash, but he wrote down his license plate number. He said after reading in the newspaper about people conning residents out of money, he decided to report it to police at 3:12 p.m. July 28. Police forwarded the report to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. 

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Property Damage

Police noticed graffiti on the retaining wall between 590 S. York and 136 Vallette at 3:28 a.m. July 8. Spray-painted in the center of the wall was a stencil of a “jackalope” with the word “HUMAN” written inside, along with six skulls with wings.

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Someone spray-painted three signs in the parking lot of Elmhurst Public Library, 125 Prospect Ave., between noon and 3:43 p.m. July 8. One of the signs was painted black with a red stencil of a "rabbit with a skeleton head." The other two were painted in a similar fashion.

Someone broke the pin pad screen in the self-checkout line at Dominick’s, 215 S. Route 83, at 4:40 p.m. July 8. A witness reported the man became frustrated with the machine and hit it two times with his hand. Loss is estimated at $600.

Someone used a black, permanent marker to write profanity on a garage door on the 200 block of Eggleston between 3:30 p.m. July 9 and 3:25 p.m. July 10.

Someone sprayed a substance that appeared to be shaving cream on a white Lexus LS400 that was parked on a lot on the 500 block of West North Avenue between noon July 7 and 10:14 p.m. July 10. The substance was causing the paint to liquefy and bubble up. Damage is estimated at $2,500.

Someone scratched a GMC Savannah multiple times while it was parked on the first block of West Park Avenue between 8:35 a.m. and 5:35 p.m. July 12.

Someone broke four wooden benches in City Centre between noon July 10 and 8:30 a.m. July 16. Benches in front of 123 N. York, at the northwest corner of York and Schiller, at the southwest corner of York and Second and in front of 150 N. York were damaged.

Police on patrol saw that someone had drawn a jackalope with the word “human” written on the south side of the old Dulles Cleaners, 495 S. York Road, at 2:30 p.m. July 18. The building is unoccupied. The drawing appears to be on an adhesive paper that is stuck to the wall.

Someone egged a home on the 900 block of Kent at 11:42 a.m. July 25. The resident told police the vandals also egged the garage and glitter-glued the driveway with her daughter’s name and a picture of a penis. Condoms were blown up and filled with glitter glue and left on the victim’s front porch. Estimated damage is $50.

Police saw two jackalopes and the word “human” painted in blue on a cement barrier on the 300 block of Scott Street at 2:51 p.m. July 26.


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