POLICE ARREST WOULD-BE BURGLAR

La Grange police were on their toes again this week when they quickly responded to a report of a suspicious man near a vehicle in a church parking lot and arrived to find a teenager wielding a tire iron with the alleged intent of breaking in to steal a GPS device.

Arrested on a single count of attempted burglary to a motor vehicle was Dennis L. Tabor, 17, of 1007 S. La Grange Road, La Grange. The incident occurred between 10:10 and 10:20 am. Sept. 28 outside of the First Presbyterian Church of La Grange in the 132 Catherine Ave.

When police received the call, it was reported a man with glasses and a black coat had parked an older tan 2-door vehicle in the church lot and kept getting in and out of it to look inside a blue vehicle also parked in the lot. Police responded and found the man on the north side of the lot.

Detective Rob Wardlaw said the teen, who admitted to his desire to smash the window to carry out the theft, will be tried as an adult.

This case, he added, was not believed connected to any of the recent burglaries in the village or to last week's burglary arrest.


Burglaries & thefts
The owner of The UPS Store, 106 W. Calendar Court, reported someone broke into his business between Sept. 26 and 28 and stole an undetermined amount of cash from a cash drawer. The package delivery store was closed Sept. 27, but police said there was no forced entry.

A day later, at 4:04 p.m. Sept. 29, a resident in the 300 block of Sunset Avenue reported their copper gutters had been stolen from their house earlier that day.

A boys black BMX-type Viper bicycle was reported stolen from a front yard in the 300 block of East Elm Avenue on Sept. 26. The theft was reported at 8:23 a.m. Sept. 29.

A resident in the 400 block of South Park Road reported the theft of a FedEx package from their house. The package, with undisclosed contents, was reported missing at 11:20 a.m. Sept. 27.

In a related note, a resident in the 500 block of South Catherine Avenue told police they witnessed an unknown male in a dark hoodie run away from their car after setting off the alarm at about 7:45 p.m. Sept. 23. The subject, whom police could not locate, was last seen running up northbound Ashland Avenue from westbound 50th Street.

On Sept. 29, three male black teens in dark clothing also were seen messing with bicycle locks at about 4 p.m. outside of the La Grange Public Library, 10 W. Cossitt Ave. They, too, were gone by the time police arrived.


Odd, but true
A resident living near West Field near the Lyons Township High School's North campus at Edgewood and Cossitt avenues made a delayed report at 9 a.m. Sept. 25 indicating a mutilated duck and a squirrel were found, both decapitated, in the park, along with several beer bottles. The items were believed left there between 5 p.m. Sept. 19 and Sept. 21.


Vandalism
Kids were seen egging homes in the 900 block of Catherine Avenue at 53rd Street shortly before 11 p.m. Sept. 27. Someone's daughter was also egged that day, but at about 8 p.m., while she was in the 800 block of South 8th Avenue. Another neighbor reported seeing someone in a black SUV, possibly a Ford Explorer, possibly throw an egg at a car. That person was last seen on southbound 50th Street at 8th Avenue.

A cola product was thrown at a residential garage in the 1000 block of South Spring Avenue at 2:05 a.m. Sept. 26. The vandalism, reported the following afternoon, was videotaped by the homeowner.

Beer cans and items belonging to kids were found in a yard in the 600 block of South 7th Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. Sept. 26, where it is believed unknown offenders had been drinking.

BB holes were discovered in two windows of a vacant house in the 100 block of East Avenue, it was reported at about 6 p.m. Sept. 23.


People news
The Fire Department helped free an unidentified child from an elevator in the Park District of La Grange Recreation Center, 536 East Ave., after 11 a.m. Sept. 29.

No tickets were issued against the driver of a van who told police he hit the gas when he meant to brake in a parking lot and ran over the parking block, through a shrub and ran into the brick wall of La Grange Pediatrics, 1400 W. 47th St., at about 4 p.m. Sept. 23. The driver, a 16-year-old from Western Springs, and a 52-year-old female passenger, refused medical treatment.
A 17-year-old Brookfield girl claimed she was assaulted by another while at LT, 100 S. Brainard Ave., it was reported about 7 p.m. Sept. 23.

A 6-year-old La Grange boy who fell an broke his arm at Seventh Avenue School, 701 S. 7th Ave., at about 9 a.m. Sept. 23, was transported by paramedics to Adventist La Grange Hospital and treated for his injuries.


Mother Nature calling
The windy weekend weather on Monday night caused lots of mayhem in and around town, including a downed cable wire over a house at Bluff and Calendar avenues; a downed tree across a sidewalk and driveway in the 100 block of South Ashland Avenue; a downed 30-foot-tall tree with a 12-inch diameter blocking a street in the 500 block of South 8th Avenue and a downed tree blocking the southbound lanes of Brainard Avenue at 49th Street.