Oak Forest Hit with Rash of Car Burglaries: Police Blotter

During the late night and early morning hours of Nov. 5–6, a string of nine reported car burglaries took place on Sycamore Lane, Cypress Lane, Timber Court and Heron Drive. The rash of burglaries all featured either smashed-in windows or unlocked vehicles that the suspect(s) then entered and removed various items. 

The victims reportedly told police that items removed from cars included GPS units, portable DVD players, loose change and cash, and tools.

Sycamore Lane

Police responded to a home in the 17000 block of Sycamore Lane after a resident reported a burglary to their vehicle.

At the residence, police spoke with the victim who told officers that sometime between 10 p.m. Nov. 5 and 7:30 a.m., Nov. 6, an unknown suspect(s) smashed in their driver's side window and removed a GPS device from the dashboard.

The victim estimated the cost to repair the window and replace the GPS at $500.

Cypress Lane

• Police responded to a home in the 4900 block of Cypress Lane after receiving a call about a burglary to a vehicle, which occurred sometime between 11 p.m., Nov. 5 and 8 a.m., Nov. 6.
  
  The victim told police someone removed an iPod, a GPS, change and the key fob for the vehicle. The victim estimated the total value of the items at $500.
  
  
• A resident in the 4900 block of Cypress Lane told police that sometime between 1 and 6 a.m., an unknown suspect(s) broke into their vehicle.
  
  The victim said that the suspect(s) smashed in the driver's side window of the vehicle and removed two Sony 7-inch flat screen DVD players and one DVD carrying case. The victim said that the suspect(s) did leave a wallet and iPod in the vehicle, which were in the center console.

Forest Court

Another resident in the 4900 block of Forest Court told officers that sometime between 6:30 p.m., Nov. 5 and 7 a.m., Nov. 6, an unknown suspect(s) broke the front passenger window of the vehicle and removed $10 and a GPS unit, which the victim valued at $150.

After a previous similar report in the area, police did a sweep and found two other vehicles that had been burglarized.

One vehicle had its rear driver's window smashed in and the victim told officers that a black Coach bag was missing, which contained various credit cards, identification cards and papers, along with $100. The victim also said a Phillips 9-inch wide screen DVD player was removed from the car.

The third victim told officers that nothing appeared to be missing from their car, although papers were strewn about the vehicle.

Officers found a blue flashlight at the third scene, but the owner said that it was possibly theirs. 

Timber Court 

A suspect then hit the 4900 block of Timber Court. The victim told police that some time between 9:30 p.m. Nov. 5, and 9:30 a.m. Nov. 6, an unknown suspect(s) broke in to their car.

The victim told police that her purse was dumped on the passenger seat and that her wallet, which contained 15 credit cards, her identification, gift cards totaling approximately $300, a check book and personal checks in the amount of $600 were missing. The victim also said that several wrapped gifts worth approximately $400 were missing from the car.

The victim also said there was a new scratch on the vehicle, which was not previously there.

Heron Drive

• Police received a call from a resident in the 6000 block of Heron Drive, who reported their car was broken into sometime between midnight and 7 a.m.
  
  The only thing missing from the car was their identification card, although there was a mess in the car because the suspect(s) had thrown various items around the car.
  
  
• Someone stole $600 worth of tools from an unlocked truck around 2 a.m. 
  
  The victim told officers that they had a surveillance camera on their truck during the night and that an unknown car parked behind the truck before the suspect got out and entered the truck. The suspect spent approximately five minutes in the truck, before exiting and returning to the unknown vehicle.
  
  The suspect then went to the rear of the truck, which is when they removed the tools, the victim believes.
  
  The victim said they would turn over the surveillance footage to police.

Police Blotter information is provided by the Oak Forest Police Department. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.