Crime & Safety

Resident Reports Two Secured Guns Stolen From His Home

Multiple reports of vehicles and bikes stolen, cell phone stashed to secretly record conversations ends up stolen, and bronze cemetery vases being pilfered again.

Guns Reported Stolen

An Elmhurst resident told police his Heckler-Koch .45 caliber handgun and Sig Sauer 9 mm were taken from his home sometime between Sept. 7 and 17. He said the guns had been locked in a case in the bathroom, and he believes his girlfriend may know what happened to them. The suspect denied knowing anything about the missing guns.

Theft Arrests

Find out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Violeta Fernandez, 33, 104 13th Ave., Melrose Park, was cited for retail theft after she allegedly took a $9 pair of earrings from Kohl's, 303 S. Route 83, at 6:46 p.m. Sept. 5.

Sean Christian, 26, 547 N. Myrtle Ave., Elmhurst, was arrested and charged with theft, resisting a peace officer, public intoxication and littering after police saw him walking in the area of Myrtle and Armitage at 1:17 a.m. Sept. 6. Police said he was seen taking something from a mailbox, ripping it up and throwing the pieces in the air. He was released on bond.

Find out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Craig Smith, 37, 3515 Cermak, Chicago, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property after police pulled over his blue Oldsmobile Bravada for expired registration at North and Highview at 1:15 p.m. Sept. 13. Police said the registration sticker had been stolen. He was released on I-bond.

Timothy Gugerty, 30, 304 S. Main St., Ohio, IL, was arrested and charged with retail theft after police said he was seen on surveillance camera stealing a bottle of liquor at Dominick's, 215 S. Route 83, at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 17. While officers were retrieving the bottle of liquor from his backpack, they said a BB gun and other items still in their packages fell on the floor. Police determined they had been stolen from Kmart, 265 S. Route 83, the same day. He was released on bond.

Theft

A Beats sound box worth $400 was removed from the rear of an unlocked vehicle parked on the 100 block of East Quincy between 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31 and 10 a.m. Sept. 1. 

A $1,500 Panasonic laptop computer was taken from the rear seat of a rental vehicle parked on the 200 block of North Addison between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Sept. 3.

An individual (police did not indicate male or female) wearing a red graphics T-shirt, black pants and white shoes took 15 containers of Enfamil baby formula from Dominick's, 215 S. Route 83, at 7:58 p.m. Sept. 5. The suspect, who was seen on video surveillance, matched the description of the suspect in several other thefts in surrounding communities, police said.

The owner of Zanzi's Deli, 113 W. First St., told police a 3-foot-by-6-foot Italian flag worth $20 was stolen from the awning between 6:30 p.m. Sept. 5 and 10 a.m. Sept. 6. 

Two low-voltage landscape light fixtures worth $30 each were taken from the front yard of a home on the 400 block of Highland around 1 a.m. Sept. 6.

A Diamondback BMX bike worth $400 was taken from the 200 block of East North Avenue between 7:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sept. 6.

Police responded to Kitchen Eatery, 601 W. St. Charles, for a theft on Sept. 6. A server allegedly had been marking up credit card tips for himself, totaling $465, since June 24.

A catalytic converter was stolen from a vehicle parked on the 100 block of North Haven at 8:48 p.m. Sept. 9. A saw blade also was found on the ground near the rear of the vehicle.

Several tools were taken from a vehicle parked on the 200 block of East Gladys between 11 p.m. Sept. 9 and 6:30 a.m. Sept. 10. The drivers side window had been broken.

The granddaughter of an Elmhurst woman allegedly stole several pieces of jewelry from her and has been pawning it at a shop in Villa Park since the beginning of the year police said. The pawn shop still had the jewelry and returned it to the victim.

A GPS device and loose change was taken from a vehicle parked on the 300 block of Hill Avenue between 9 p.m. Sept. 9 and 3:52 a.m. Sept. 11.

A vehicle was stolen from a driveway on the 200 block of South Chandler between 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 and 4:26 a.m. Sept. 11. While investigating this case, police found another vehicle on the 300 block of Chandler that had been broken into. Nothing appeared to have been taken.

Nearly $80 in baby items was taken from Dominick's, 215 Route 83, at 3:50 p.m. Sept. 12. Video surveillance was submitted into evidence.

An unlocked bicycle worth $200 was taken from a bike rack on the 200 block of East Crestview between 5:49 and 6:49 p.m. Sept. 12.

A purse and its contents worth $485 was taken from an unlocked vehicle parked on the 200 block of North Walnut around 6:50 p.m. Sept. 12.

The front panel of an ATM was discovered removed and leaning next to the ATM machine located in a vending room off a lobby at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, 155 E. Brush Hill, at about 6:10 a.m. Sept. 13. 

Someone stole two Dyson vacuum cleaners totaling $949.98 from Kohl's, 303 Route 83, at 5:40 p.m. Sept. 14. An off-duty employee saw the suspect run to his vehicle with the vacuum cleaners, and was able to follow the vehicle and take a photo fo the license plate. An Illinois State Police alert was issued with negative results, according to the police report.

A 2005 silver Chevrolet Equinox was stolen from a driveway on the 700 block of North Willow Road between 10:50 p.m. Sept. 14 and 5:30 a.m. Sept. 15. The owner told police she keeps the keys inside the vehicle and it was unlocked. The vehicle was located a short time later in front of a home on the 700 block of North Indiana, undamaged with the key in the ignition.

A 2004 unlocked silver Nissan Armada was stolen from a driveway on the 500 block of North Van Auken Street between 3:30 and 8 a.m. Sept. 15. While taking the report, the victim also noticed his 2008 Cadillac STS and 2006 Cadillac CTS were burglarized. Both vehicles also were parked in the driveway unlocked. 

Power tools were taken from a white work van that was parked at Superior Ambulance, 395 W. Lake St., between 3 p.m. Sept. 13 and 4:30 a.m. Sept. 16. The tools were recovered after the arrest of two burglary suspects at 2:44 a.m. Sept. 16. An investigation is pending.

Two catalytic converters were missing from two cars parked at Timothy Christian School, 188 W. Butterfield Road, between 7:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 16. 

A cell phone was taken from a lunch room of a business on the 100 block of East Schiller between 11:20 p.m. Sept. 17 and 1:05 a.m. Sept. 18. The owner of the cell phone told police she left it behind the microwave so she could secretly record the conversations of custodians. When she went back to retrieve it, it was gone. 

Twenty-four bronze cemetery vases were taken from grave sites at Mt. Emblem Cemetery. Police received a report of suspicious activity in the cemetery at 6:28 a.m. Sept. 18. The suspect was driving a dark blue 2001 Audi.

A resident of the 600 block of South Edgewood told police that in August, he received payment in exchange for placing advertisements on his vehicle. He cashed the checks, kept a portion of the money and sent the remaining balance to the suspect. He later learned the checks were counterfeit, and he now is responsible for a total of $2,500. The incident was reported Sept. 18.

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. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.