Crime & Safety

Heroin Addiction Suspected to Be Behind Recent Crimes

Also, a man wearing latex gloves lurks on a back porch, and 10 arrests made for retail theft at Kmart, Kohl's and Dominick's.

Heroin addiction is suspected to be the cause of two thefts in the past few days, according to Elmhurst police reports.

On Monday, Nov. 4, a patient came to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, 155 W. Brush Hill, for treatment, but left without being released by the hospital at 4:50 p.m. The patient left with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC line) in her arm, which belongs to the hospital. The incident, which was first reported as a missing person, became a theft report, police said. The PICC line is a cause for concern, police said, since the patient is believed to be a heroin addict and may use the pick line to inject heroin. 

In another incident, a resident of the 800 block of Indiana told police that a friend of the family, who had been in rehab for heroin addiction, was visiting recently. The friend was left at the home alone between 7 and 10:30 a.m. Nov. 1, and when the resident returned home, numerous electronics and other items were missing. Taken were an Apple MacBook Pro, two Dell laptops, an Xbox 360, six Xbox video games, an Apple iPod and a pair of Beats headphones. The victim believes the suspect took the items to sell to get heroin.

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The following theft-related items also were reported by Elmhurst police recently:

Attempted Burglary

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Police were called to the 400 block of North Berteau at 4 p.m. Oct. 31 on a report of a suspicious person. According to a police report, an unknown black man in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall with a slight build and buzzed black hair was seen standing on a resident's back porch. When he was approached by the resident's friend, the man said hello and then walked up the street. He was wearing latex gloves. Police discovered that a rear window had been tampered with.

Retail Theft Arrests

Sherko N. Ishan, 56, 400 N. Mill Road, Elmhurst, was arrested and charged with retail theft after police said he removed a bottle of perfume worth $23.99 from Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, at 3:24 p.m. Oct. 26. Ishan was released on bond.

Two juveniles were seen removing headphones and a watch from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, without paying at 3 p.m. Oct. 27. They were released to their parents without charges, and the report will be forwarded to a juvenile detective.

Fernando Ortiz-Martinez, 28, 1604 Marlboro, Carpentersville, was arrested and charged with retail theft after police said he took USB cables worth $39.98 from their packaging and placed them in his sweatshirt at Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, at 12:27 p.m. Oct. 28. He was released on bond.

Guillermina Vasquez, 19, 919 W. 32nd St., Chicago, was arrested and charge with retail theft after she allegedly put several items worth a total of $78 into a diaper bag and left Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, without paying at 7:14 p.m. Oct. 29. She was released on bond.

Anna H. Chwalek, 27, 1324 Brookwood St., Bensenville, was arrested and cited for retail theft after she allegedly took two silver bracelets worth $28 from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 2:05 p.m. Oct. 30. She was released on bond.

Hava Imeri, 60, 129 S. Villa Ave., Addison, was arrested and charged with retail theft after she allegedly took about $340 in merchandise from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 5:28 p.m. Oct. 30. She was released on bond.

Brianne O. Duvall, 18, 190 S. Prospect Ave., was arrested and charged with retail theft after she allegedly took a bottle of vodka from Dominick's, 215 S. Route 83, at 6:37 p.m. Oct. 31. She was released on bond.

Hope D. Jaroszewski, 58, 322 S. Wisconsin, Villa Park, was arrested and cited for retail theft after she allegedly took about $35 in cosmetics from Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, at 12:15 p.m. Nov. 2. She was released on bond.

Scott Kafka, 27, 445 E. Fay, Addison, was arrested and charged with retail theft after he allegedly took numerous jeans from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 5:43 p.m. Nov. 3. He also was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on bond.

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. 


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