'Publishers Clearing House' Scammer Deceives Resident: Northbrook Police Blotter

NORTHBROOK, IL — The following information comes from the Northbrook Police Department and court records as a record of incidents reported to police and those arrested on criminal charges, which represent accusations by the state that are often dropped or reduced. Updated information may be available from the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Everyone arrested is presumed to be innocent unless found guilty in court beyond a reasonable doubt.

ARRESTS

SUSPENDED REGISTRATION

Yeider M. Carrascal Arevalo, of Waukegan, is accused of having a suspended registration, no valid driver's license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and was arrested at 3:42 p.m. Dec. 26, in the 2800 block of Dundee Road. A court date of Feb. 17 was assigned.

VIOLATION OF AN ORDER OF PROTECTION

Brian R. Amado, of Highland Park, is accused of violating an order of protection, and was arrested at 4:36 p.m. Dec. 29, in the 1400 block of Shermer Road. Amado had reportedly emailed a protected person listed on the order. A court date of Jan. 8 was assigned.

BURGLARY/CREDIT CARD FRAUD

Eric D. Mitchell, of Evanston, and Ricky D. Mitchell, of Niles, are accused of felony counts of burglary, unlawful use of a credit card, and were arrested at 9:46 a.m. Dec. 30, in the 100 block of Revere Drive. A complainant reported that on Nov 14, her purse was stolen while she worked in an office building, and her credit cards were illegally used at various stores in the adjoining cities. The defendant were caught on video surveillance walking into the office building where the complainant worked and into her office area. They are later caught on video surveillance at the stores making illegal purchases with her credit cards. After a thorough investigation, police said they both turned themselves in. A court date of Dec. 31 was assigned.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Geoffrey J. Ware, Jr., of Glenview, is accused of improper lane usage, driving under the influence, DUI with a blood alcohol concentration level of .08 or more, and was arrested at 2:35 a.m. Jan. 1, at Dundee and Midway roads. A court date of Jan. 30 was assigned.

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INCIDENTS

RETAIL THEFT

• The loss prevention staff at a retail store in the 1400 block of Lake Cook Road reported on Dec. 26 that two days prior, two males had committed a retail theft. After reviewing surveillance footage of the store, they recorded the males entering the store and walking over to the hat display. One of the pair grabbed a hat worth $350. They then fled out of the store and drove away in a gold sedan.
• The loss prevention staff at a bookstore in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard reported at 10:31 a.m. Dec. 30, a male had come into the store and grabbed various books, vinyl records, a game and hat. The male fled out the rear of the building through a fire door and stole the items without paying. They were last seen getting into a silver sedan. The total loss was $256.70.

PRIZE SCAM

A resident of the 2800 block of Aspen Road reported at 9:09 p.m. Dec. 26, that they had received a letter that indicated he won $2.5 million from Publishers Clearing House. Attached to the letter was a check addressed to him for $9,750.50. They advised him this was payment to cover insurance and attorney's fees. The complainant called the phone number listed on the letter and spoke to a person. The person provided him with instructions on how to reach out to an insurance company and an attorney that specialized in prize winners. He was told to send cash to these people and wait for further instructions. The complainant packed $11,800 in cash in three different packages and sent them to three locations in California and Arizona. When the complainant's bank called him and told him the original check was a bad forged check, he had realized he had been scammed.

THEFT

A resident of the 4100 block of Terri-Lyn Lane reported at 10:21 a.m. Dec. 29, she had three packages delivered to her house, and they were left at the front door while she was away. When she returned home, she noticed all the packages had been stolen. The total value of the packages was $299.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD

The staff at a nail spa in the 800 block of Willow Road reported that on Dec. 28, two people had come into the store and used a gift card to pay for services. On Dec. 29, a person came into the store and received services for her and her two children. All the services were paid for by a gift card. The staff later learned that the gift cards were fraudulent. The credit card company informed the staff that the gift cards had stolen credit card information on them and were never approved. The total loss was $150.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

A resident in the 2300 block of Waukegan Road reported at 8:33 p.m. Dec. 31, her family had left their condo for approximately four and a half hours. When they returned, they noticed someone had damaged the rear patio door to gain entry into the condo and stole jewelry from inside. The total value of the stolen items is not known yet.