Cookie Monster Bandit Strikes Twice at Kmart

Theft Arrests

Two men took eight to 12 DVDs valued at $20 each and an xBox Kinect worth $150 from Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, at 2:51 p.m. Nov. 11. They were last seen leaving the area in a silver Subaru Impreza. One of the suspects was wearing a blue Cookie Monster baseball cap turned backwards and a black jacket. Two days later, at 2:56 p.m. Nov. 13, officers responded to Kmart on a report that the same two suspects were in the store. Lee S. Alexopoulos, 23, 101 Theodore Lane, Itasca, was wearing the same blue Cookie Monster hat. He left the store without paying for DVDs valued at more than $430. He was charged with felony retail theft. The other suspect, Adrian M. Ciofiac, 22, 351 Juniper Court, Carol Stream, was driving the same Subaru Impreza with no plates. Police stopped him in the parking lot and charged him with felony retail theft, driving without insurance and no plates. They were both taken to DuPage County Jail.

Two 16-year-old girls were arrested and charged with retail theft and possession of alcohol after they removed three bottles of alcohol from Dominick's, 215 S. Route 83, at 4:29 p.m. Nov. 9. One of the girls also was charged with possession of cannabis and possession of tobacco.

Adam W. Wazeman, 36, 0S640 Poplar, Elmhurst, was arrested and charged with retail theft after he allegedly took a bottle of liquor from Jewel, 944 S. York Road, at 12:24 a.m. Nov. 11. He was released on I-bond.

Theft

Someone removed a black and cheetah-print purse containing a drivers license, child's identification, $26 and numerous credit cards from a vehicle parked on the 600 block of Hillside Avenue between 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 and 8:20 a.m. Nov. 10. Three of the credit cards were used fraudulently at McDonald's ($10.36) and Meijer's in Bloomingdale ($95.82). The offender attempted to use a third card but it was rejected because it had reached its credit limit.

Someone stole eight coils of 500 MCM gauge copper wire valued at $850 per coil, and about 1,000 pounds of scrap 500 MCM gauge copper wire worth about $3,000 from a locked storage room at Park Place of Elmhurst, 1050 S. Euclid, between 3:45 Nov. 8 and 6:50 a.m. Nov. 9.

Someone broke out the window of a vehicle while it was parked at Courts Plus, 186 S. West Ave., and removed a purse at 10:53 a.m. Nov. 9. The purse contained $60, and five gift cards: two each for Francesca Amici and California Pizza Kitchen worth $50 apiece, and one for Jewel worth $30. The purse was found at the intersection of Eggleston and Cottage Hill. The gift cards and cash were missing.

Someone charged $291.54 at Thrifty Car Rental and also charged New York City rail passes on the Chase Visa credit card of a victim on the 800 block of South Stratford April 27.

Someone smashed the rear driver side window of a vehicle parked at Eldridge Park, 1037 S. Spring Road, between 1:10 and 1:25 p.m. Nov. 13 and stole a purse containing a Louis Vuitton wallet, passport, credit and debit cards, seven gift cards, a drivers license, checks and $800 to $1,000 in cash.

Someone smashed out the drivers side window of a vehicle parked at Hillside and Van Buren between 12:30 and 2:06 p.m. Nov. 13 and removed a purse and credit cards.

Someone took a wallet from a victim while he was shopping at Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 3:33 p.m. Nov. 13. The victim remembers someone bumping into him in the clothing section and he noticed the wallet missing when he went to pay. The wallet contained five credit cards.

Someone removed the front license plate from a vehicle parked at either the Kmart or the Dominick's parking lot at 215 S. Route 83 between 2 and 6:15 p.m. Nov. 13.

Someone removed money and credit cards from a purse that was in a locked employee area of Chipotle, 139 N. York Road, at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 11. The victim told police that Chipotle's rules require an internal investigation, so she did not report it to police until Nov. 13. Her credit card was fraudulently charged $1,000.

The store manager at Blockbuster Video, 161 S. Route 83, told police that two men came in at 12:15 p.m. Nov. 14. One of them distracted the lone clerk and the other went behind the counter and removed boxes of pre-viewed Playstation 3 and Nintendo DS video games from an unlocked cabinet. Estimated loss is $5,000. The men were seen on surveillance video.

Someone broke out the rear window of a vehicle parked at Rainbow Restaurant, 233 N. York Road, between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 15 and removed a laptop, iPad, Blackberry cell phone, Casio digital camera and a portable DVD player worth $2,320.

A woman signed a contract for a 2011 Hyundai Sonata at Howard GMC, 364 W. Grand Ave. on Nov. 4 with no down payment and financing to be determined. She was issued Illinois license plates and was able to drive the vehicle home. On Nov. 15, the woman was told she needed to come to the dealership to discuss financing. After she arrived, she was told she could not finance the vehicle because she is unemployed and she would have to leave the vehicle. She got into the car and drove away. Employees contacted Elmhurst police, but they did not locate her. The vehicle was later picked up from the offender's home.

Someone entered an unlocked garage on the 100 block of East Crescent between 3:30 and 6:40 p.m. Nov. 15 and removed $2 in change from an unlocked vehicle. The victim's barking dog alerted her to a disturbance in the garage.

Someone took a cell phone from a break room at York High School, 355 W. St. Charles Road, at 4 p.m. Oct. 3. The victim told police Nov. 16 he had lost the phone while working. When he called to cancel his service, he discovered someone had made 22 hours of phone calls since he had lost it.

Someone removed a wallet from a locked gym locker at York High School, 355 W. St. Charles Road, between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. Nov. 4. The wallet contained two credit cards and an Apple i-Touch worth $200. The report was made on Nov. 16.

Someone smashed out the rear window of a vehicle parked at Elmhurst YMCA, 211 W. First St., and removed a purse at 2:22 p.m. Nov. 16.

Patch reports on law enforcement activity using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to contact karenc@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.