How Elmhurst Yard Work Led To Fire

ELMHURST, IL – In the last few days, Elmhurst police handled cases involving a fire, a threat involving photos, scams, a bicycle fall and a stolen bike. Here is information from the latest Elmhurst police reports:

Fire

• About 2 p.m. Sunday, a homeowner in the 200 block of North Highland Avenue tried to kill weeds near the home's exterior with a blow torch. The flames ignited plants that had grown behind the siding, causing the fire to extend upward behind the wall, according to a city news release. Firefighters quickly put out the fire. They removed siding to investigate and confirmed the interior of the house was unaffected, the city said. "Open flames used for landscaping purposes, such as torches or fire pits, should never be used near structures or combustible materials," the news release stated.

Photo threat

• A resident in the 100 block of Fellows Court reported sending photos of himself to a stranger Saturday. The suspect then threatened to disseminate the photos on social media unless the resident sent money.

Scams

• On Friday, a husband and wife in the 400 block of West Alexander Boulevard received a message on their computer announcing it had a virus and providing a phone number for assistance. The man called the number and spoke with the suspect, who instructed him to send money in bitcoin to fix the issue. A second suspect told him to buy Target gift cards.
• A resident in the 400 block of West Butterfield Road provided her personal and banking information to a stranger posing as a bill collector. The scam occurred Tuesday, but wasn't reported until four days later.

Bike fall

• A woman fell off her bicycle shortly before noon Saturday in the 400 block of North York Street, injuring her face. She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital.

Stolen bike

• A person locked his orange Trek Roscoe bicycle about 4 p.m. Saturday at YMCA, 211 W. First St. When he returned two hours later, it was gone.

Found

• A red and brown Raleigh bicycle was stolen between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday in the 700 block of South York Street.
• A black and gray Hyper Urban bicycle and a black Huffy Granite bicycle were found about 3:30 a.m. Sunday at YMCA, 211 W. First St. The bikes were placed into evidence for safekeeping.