RESIDENT THWARTS WOULD-BE BURGLAR

A resident in the 800 block of South La Grange Road almost caught a car burglar before he broke into a Subaru and a Honda by unknown means shortly after 1:30 a.m. Oct. 14. The male subject, described as a white man in his 20s with shaggy hair and a thin build and wearing dark clothing and a possible windbreaker type jacket, was last seen running eastbound on 51st Street and southbound on La Grange Road.

Other break-ins, thefts, failed tries
A grey backpack containing text books, XBox controllers with a rechargeable cord, an IPod and a spiral notebook worth an estimated $175 were reported stolen from an unlocked vehicle belonging to a 23-year-old man in the 900 block of South Madison Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. Oct. 12.

Miscellaneous items were stolen from an unlocked car in the A200 block of South Ashland Avenue, it was reported to police at about 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11.

A lawn chair and straw decoration on display for Halloween in the front yard of a home in the 900 block of South Stone Avenue was reported stolen sometime between the night of Oct. 9 and about 9:45 a.m. Oct. 10.

A customer at Borders, 1 N. La Grange Road, told police she was pickpocketed from someone inside the store sometime before 10:50 a.m. Oct. 8. She said she did not see who did it.

A wallet was reported stolen Oct. 7 at Lyons Township High School, 100 S. Brainard Ave.

Police recovered an unoccupied vehicle in the behind a home in the 400 block of East Avenue that came back stolen out of Buffalo, N.Y., at about 4 p.m. Oct. 10.

False alarm
Five teens were issued local ordinance tickets for loitering after they were found allegedly playing with a panic alarm on the first floor of the parking deck downtown. They include Tikira Kirk, 16, of La Grange; Wendy Mora, 15, of La Grange; Marc Herns, 16, of La Grange; Cynthyia Actame, 15, of La Grange and Dobson LaKeith, 15, of Niles.

Odd, but true
A 53-year-old Cicero man in a blue jacket was awoken by police after he was reported sleeping on the volleyball court at Sedgwick Park, 47th Street and East Avenue, shortly after 11 a.m. Oct. 11. And shortly after 10 p.m. Oct. 9, two homeless men in their 40s laying in an alley in the first block of La Grange Road.

A boy with a toy was mistaken for a suspicious man pacing back and forth and wielding a possible sword in the 300 block of Waiola Avenue on the afternoon of Oct. 11.

A fake human leg was stolen from a decorative skeleton on display for Halloween on the front lawn of a house in the 1000 block of South Spring Avenue sometime between the night of Oct. 9 and 9:40 a.m. Oct. 10.

Boy, the things that make it to the blotter. Someone actually complained to police because a man was seen walking his pit bull near Bluff and Maple avenues and not picking up after the dog. Oh my!

Last but not least comes the suspicious 40-year-old fella in the 700 block of 9th Avenue who was spotted by someone sitting in a dark vehicle on the south side of 50th Street at 9th, facing the wrong direction, shortly after 5:45 a.m. Oct. 8. Turns out he was the owner of the vehicle who lived nearby and decided to sit in waiting keeping watch on his own house for an unknown culprit who keeps allowing their dog to defecate on his lawn.

Vandalism
A resident in the 100 block of North Park Avenue reported finding gang graffiti on his garage at 5:22 p.m. Oct. 13.

A large group of kids were also dispersed by police as they congregated at the fountain adjacent to Village Hall in the first block of La Grange Road shortly before 9 p.m. Oct. 12. An unknown offender in the crowd was believed to have placed soap in the fountain as well. The fountain was also discovered soaped at 9:35 p.m. that night, causing officials to shut it down.

A vehicle was reported egged between 10:30 a.m. Oct. 11 and 11:13 a.m. Oct. 12 in the 100 block of Washington Avenue.

A car window was reported broken in the 200 block of East Plainfield Road at about 7:15 p.m. Oct. 9.

Both passenger side tires of a vehicle were slashed as it was in the parking lot of Grayhill, 561 W. Hillgrove Ave., it was reported at 2:28 p.m. Oct. 7. The victim told police they believe a fellow employee was the suspect, but doesn't want to press charges at this time.

Lots of suspicious activity
A 24-year-old man was accused of setting fires outside of a house in the 400 block of Benton, the latest report phoned into police on the afternoon of Oct. 13. The man apparently agreed to stop, but showed up again that day with a yellow bottle of possible flammable liquid.

Someone's unattended wheelchair was discovered without a rider against a fence at the North campus soccer field of Lyons Township High School at Park and Elm avenues at 6:35 p.m. Oct. 12.

A screen was reported missing from a window of a vacant house in the 200 block of East Avenue and the inside lights were discovered on at 9:20 p.m. Oct. 13, when the house is normally dark and the screens are in place.

A dog with a collar around its neck was reported running loose twice in one day on the village's East Side, but was gone when police responded to calls during the morning and afternoon Oct. 13. The morning report was made by a mail carrier at Washington and Sawyer avenues; the first caller saw the dog running around by Tilden and Franklin avenues. The dog is believed to be a pet from the first block of Hayes Avenue.

A heavy-set Latino man wearing a spring jacket and hat tried to enter someone's house in the 500 block of South 8th Avenue at about 4 p.m. Oct. 8. He told the homeowner he had to dig in his backyard when no such work was scheduled. The resident closed the door on him and he left.

Gas smells, fires
A natural gas leak was discovered at a meter behind a house in the 600 block of South Waiola Avenue shortly before 10:45 a.m. Oct. 13. Nicor was notified. A gas odor was also discovered inside stores in the 100 block of West Calendar Court on the afternoon of Oct. 12 and painters were found to be working in vacant storefront. The workers were told to stop painting for a while. And at 3:40 p.m. Oct. 11, Nicor also was called out to take care of a leak when someone smelled gas in the 200 block of South Brainard Avenue.

Several subjects were sent on their way without charges after someone reported they started a fire under the Ogden Avenue bridge shortly after 8 p.m. Oct. 12.

Firefighters extinguished a laundry room fire in the 300 block of South Kensington Avenue called in to police at 7:58 p.m. Oct. 10.

Firefighters also responded to a mutual aid call from Western Springs of a smell of electrical wiring burning inside a home in the 4700 block of Wolf Road. The source was a faulty wall outlet.

Vagrancy violators
A white man and white woman were reported trying to shake down people for money outside of the 7-Eleven, 201 W. Hillgrove Ave., at about 11:20 p.m. Oct. 11. The vagrants were gone by the time police arrived.

People crimes
A 14-year-old Aurora boy was released without charges to the custody of his aunt after police said he crossed the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks with the gates down on northbound La Grange Road at Burlington Avenue about 5:30 p.m. Oct. 9.

A special watch was placed on a house in the 100 block of East Avenue where an unknown man put two mattresses under the porch in the rear of a bank-owned house. The caller, who discovered the beds at about 1 p.m. Oct. 9, told police they feared someone may be planning to set the house on fire. Or, perhaps, sleep there?