Thief Ransacks Home on Fern, Takes Only Baseball Cards

Burglary

A resident of a home on the 600 block of South Fern told police that someone forced open the back door between 5:15 and 6:45 p.m. Feb. 3 and ransacked the master bedroom. He said the only thing that was missing was a box of baseball cards.

Vandalism

Someone painted "VADAR" with the "A's" upside down in green spray paint on the back door at Francesca's Amici, 174 N. Addison, between 4:05 and 5:50 p.m. Feb. 3. An unreadable word also was painted in black. Similar types of vandalism also were reported that day on the 200 block of East First Street, between 4:50 and 6:35 p.m.; at 128 Addison, reported at 6:41 p.m.; at Willow Road and First Street, between 4:50 and 6:35 p.m.; at 126 N. Addison between 5:50 and 6:41 p.m.; at 100 N. Addison between 5:50 and 6:35 p.m.; on the 200 block of North York, reported at 5:40 p.m.: at 111 W. Third St., between 5 p.m. Feb. 3 and 10:30 a.m. Feb. 4; a second incident on the 200 block of East First between 4 p.m. Feb. 3 and 10:15 a.m. Feb. 4; on the 100 block of North Haven, between 5 p.m. Feb. 3 and 10:45 a.m. Feb. 4; at 172 E. Schiller, reported at 1:21 p.m. Feb. 5; and at 138 N. Haven, reported at 1:21 p.m. Feb. 5.

Someone spray-painted the back door to Plass Appliance, 134 N. York Road, with an unreadable design. The vandalism was discovered at 2 a.m. Feb. 6. On the same day, similar markings were discovered on the York Theatre building, 136 N. York Road, at 8:44 a.m.; on the hallway by the north-side elevator of the parking deck at 118 E. Schiller St. at 9:09 a.m.; on the rear door of Parallel Partners, 126 N. York, between 5 p.m. Feb. 3 and 8 a.m. Feb. 6; and on the rear door of 124 N. York, between 5 p.m. Feb. 3 and 8 p.m. Feb. 6.

Theft of Alcohol Arrests

While police were looking for suspects who had recently spraypainted several buildings in the downtown area, police came across a 14-yaer-old boy walking eastbound on First Street approaching Hagans at 6:50 p.m. Feb. 3. During a search of the boy's backpack, officers found a bottle of Barcardi rum. While taking him to the police station, the boy allegedly told police he stole the bottle of alcohol from Jewel the previous day. He was released to his mother and will be referred to Peer Jury.

Chris Anthony Kupka, 57, 17W436 Manor Lane, Villa Park, was arrested and charged with retail theft and public intoxication after he allegedly took a bottle of Captain Morgan rum and concealed it in his sleeve at Jewel, 153 E. Schiller, at 5:31 p.m. Feb. 4. He was released on bond and issued a no-trespass notice for Jewel. At about 6:40 p.m., after he was released from the police station, police were called for a medic assist. When they arrived, they found Kupka with a bottle of vodka he allegedly had just stolen from the same Jewel. Complaints were signed and Kupka was charged with retail theft and criminal trespass. He was taken to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital for a psychological evaluation.

Theft

Someone sawed the catalytic converter off a vehicle parked on the second level of the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital parking deck, 200 N. Berteau Ave., between 1 and 3:15 p.m. Feb. 2. The victim noticed his vehicle sounded loud on the way home and stopped at the dealership, where he learned the part had been removed. Surveillance cameras at the hospital did not lead to information about a suspect.

Someone removed $4,130 worth of miscellaneous items from a boat parked on the 100 block of Berteau back in November.

Suspicious Circumstances

While walking his dog, a man said he noticed a cylindrical object wrapped in duct tape near a bench in Crescent Park, Ridge and Fair streets, at 1:38 p.m. Feb. 5. The DuPage County Bomb Squad was called to the scene to destroy the object, but it was later determined it was for geocaching and was not an explosive.

Identity Theft

A woman on the 200 block of West Crescent noticed all of her emails dating back to 2007 were missing and had been routed to a different account without her consent. She also learned that her contacts had received an email stating she was in danger and needed money to be sent to her. She filed a report at 2:37 p.m. Feb. 3 and canceled all of her financial accounts.

Someone used the company credit card belonging to Visser Heating, 168 W. Grand Ave., to make several unauthorized purchases at Jewel, Meijer and Dominick's totaling more than $900 on Jan. 30

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.