Mapping it Out: May, June Vehicle Break-ins

Between May 5 and June 25, a total of 40 cases of burglary and/or damage to vehicles were reported to . A dozen of those instances were exclusively damage while the remaining 28 included thefts, and sometimes damage.

Whether burglars strike vehicles in residents' driveways or those parked outside local shopping malls and in workout center lots, they are most often looking for a quick smash-n-grab theft, police officers said.

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Fitness center parking lots are often targeted because thieves know that when people work out, they don't take their valuables with them,  Cmndr. Steve Vaccaro has said.

The best defense against burglary to your vehicle is simple: Lock your doors.

Here are a few other pointers from law enforcement officials:

1. When away from home, park in well-lit, busy areas of parking lots.
2. Take all valuables out of your car. Put packages and other items in the trunk. Don't leave change, CDs, cell phones and other items in plain view to tempt would-be thieves.
3. If you park your car in your driveway when at home, don't leave a garage door opener or house keys in the car and don't forget to lock the doors.
4. Be alert for suspicious activity in parking lots and in your neighborhood and call the police department if you observe anything out of the ordinary.
5. Call 911 to report any suspicious or unusual activity. Be prepared to provide vehicle information like the color, make, model, license plate and suspect descriptions including gender, race, and clothing.

The following is a list of vehicle break-ins reported in  between May 5 and June 25. They coincide with the accompanying map, which plots the crime for you.

MONDAY, JUNE 25

A woman called police after someone reportedly shattered her vehicle's driver's side window while she ran inside a local child care center dropping her child off. The woman was at KinderCare, 9460 179th St., for about five minutes when the incident occurred. She came back to find her purse missing. Her vehicle's doors had been locked and purse was sitting on a front seat.

SUNDAY, JUNE 24

Someone shattered a windshield of a vehicle parked in the north Metra lot at the Oak Park Avenue station, 6682 South St. Police didn't identify a time frame for the incident but did take blood samples found on the glass and in a grassy area near the vehicle. 

THURSDAY, JUNE 21

A thief targeted a car at Odyssey County Club, 19110 S. Ridgeland between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., police said. Missing items included a Michael Kors purse, four credit cards, multiple gift cards totaling about $300, $200 cash and a driver's license. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 17

A $60 radar detector was taken from the glove box of a Toyota Forerunner that was parked between June 15 and June 17 in the 9100 block of West Letterkenny Drive in Tinley Park. The vehicle was reportedly unlocked.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16

• A woman's purse was stolen from a 2004 Acura that was parked in a lot at Centennial Park, 7827 167th St. The victims said a front passenger-side window of the vehicle was shattered between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

• A woman said three of her credit cards were stolen from her purse, possibly while it was parked in a lot at Andrew High School, 9001 West 171st St. The cards were inside her purse, which was left on the front passenger seat underneath a towel. The victim said she thought she locked her car when she left it but couldn't be certain.

• The owner of a 2007 GMC Yukon told police that sometime between 9 p.m. June 15 and 7:30 a.m. June 16, someone stole $10 in coins from his unlocked vehicle. It was parked in the 9100 bock of West Kinsale Drive. 

THURSDAY, JUNE 14

• While a woman stepped inside Kinder Care, 9460 179th St., to pick up her daughter around 5:40 p.m., someone shattered a window to her 2005 Jeep and stole her purse. The woman said she was only inside the child care center for about seven minutes.

• Someone broke a window to a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire that was parked between 9:45 p.m. June 13 and 3 p.m. June 14 in the 17300 block of Ridgeland Avenue. 

• Sometime between 7 p.m. June 13 and 5:30 a.m. June 14, someone stole a GPS out of the center console of a 2004 Jeep that was parked in the 17700 block of 64th Court. The victim said the car was likely unlocked.  

SUNDAY, JUNE 10

• Employees at Odyssey Fun World, 19111 S. Oak Park Ave., said they saw a man break into a green Chevrolet conversion van around 3:15 p.m. and steal a tool box. Police tried to track the offender down with no luck. The witnesses were able to get the offender's license plate.

• Police said that between 9:15 p.m. and 9:40 p.m., someone damaged a squad car that was parked in the 7500 block of 159th Place. The officer was investigating a burglary at that time and returned to his car to find a broken off side mirror, dent on the passenger-side door and scratch on the fender. 

FRIDAY, JUNE 8

Two women called the cops after someone smashed the passenger-side windows of their vehicles while they were parked between 9:15 a.m. and 10 a.m. at Centennial Park, 7827 W. 167th St. One had her purse stolen and the other had a diaper bag containing her wallet stolen. 

TUESDAY, JUNE 5

• Running shoes, earrings, a hooded sweatshirt and a pack of cigarettes were reported missing from a vehicle parked in the 8200 block of Cove Court. The break-in occurred overnight, police said, and the perpetrator got in after punching the lock on a passenger side door.

• A woman called police to report that sometime between 10 p.m. June 4 and 6 a.m. June 5, someone punched out the window of her 2007 Honda Accord in order to steal her TomTom GPS unit. The vehicle was parked in the 19400 block of Glenbrook Lane.

• Sometime between 10 p.m. June 4 and 6 a.m. June 5, someone stole a Tom Tom GPS unit from a 2007 Honda Accord that was parked in the 19400 block of Glenbrook Lane. 

MONDAY, JUNE 4

Someone damaged a 2000 CLK 320 Mercedes that was parked in the 7700 block of 159th Street between 4 p.m. June 3 and 5:15 a.m. June 4. Police said the back window of the vehicle was damaged and the top was dented. A large rock was found lying about 7 feet from the vehicle. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 2

Police were called to the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater, 19100 S. Ridgeland Avenue, for a report of a vehicle break in. The owner said his $225 prescription sunglasses, 14 Disney pins, a parking pass, a phone charger, a bottle of Adidas cologne, unlabeled CDs and a $275 small silver piece of jewelry containing ashes of his dead father. The items were stolen between 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, JUNE 1

Someone slashed four tires on a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta that was parked between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the 8600 block of Bethany Lane in Tinley Park. Windows on the vehicles were also damaged. 

MONDAY, MAY 31

A volunteer at PAWS Animal Shelter called police around 10:40 p.m., after she discovered that someone shattered the window to her vehicle, which was parked in the shelter's lot, and stole her purse. The purse was on the passenger seat of a red Chevrolet Trailblazer between 7:40 p.m. and 10:40 p.m., according to the report. Police also found burn marks on the passenger side of the car's interior and burnt papers laying in the back seat. 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30

A resident of the 17200 block of South Cambridge Place reported that around 5:50 a.m., someone stole several items from her purse while it was in her unlocked vehicle and parked in the garage. Missing were several gift cards, $350 cash, a driver's license, PNC bank card and a Visa card. 

TUESDAY, MAY 29

Someone broke into a Chevrolet van belonging to GoldyLocks. It was parked in the 17000 block of South Oak Park Avenue. Various tools were stolen.

FRIDAY, MAY 25

Vandals scratched the side of a 2000 BMW that was parked in the 16700 block of South Lakewood. The vehicle was damaged overnight, the owner said. 

THURSDAY, MAY 24

Several CDs, an iPhone, $2 and prescription drugs were taken from a vehicle that was parked in the 7100 block of Laverne Lane between 6:30 p.m. May 23 and 4:55 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23

Police found a partial shoe print on a vehicle that was parked in the 17500 block of South Drummond Drive, where the owner said it was damaged. The dents are consistent with someone kicking the car, police said. 

TUESDAY, MAY 22

An employee of Texas Roadhouse, 18345 LaGrange Road, said that between 3:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., someone stole her purse from her 2000 Chevrolet Blazer. 

MONDAY, MAY 21

Someone stole a Garmin GPS, an overhead garage door opener and the vehicle owners manual from a 2007 Pontiac G6 that was parked between 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the 80th Avenue Train Station, 18001 S. 80th Ave.

FRIDAY, MAY 18

A senior at Andrew High School, 9001 W. 171st St., called police to report that between 7:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., someone keyed the passenger side of his 1998 Pontiac Grand Am. The vehicle was parked in the school's lot at the time, the report said.

SUNDAY, MAY 13

Someone stole a briefcase from an unlocked Pontiac that was parked in the 19400 block of Cranfield Lane. The incident occurred between 6 p.m. May 11 and 6 p.m. May 13, according to the report. 

FRIDAY, MAY 11

• Police said a man and a woman stole a vehicle between 10:15 p.m. May 10 and and 12:30 a.m. May 11 that was parked behind J. W. Hollstein's, 173589 Oak Park Ave. The car was unlocked and the keys were hidden under a mat. Officers located the car and though the victim said he didn't know the driver, the case seemed suspicious, the report indicated. The victim didn't press any charges.

• Sometime overnight, someone slashed the front passenger-side tire of a 2002 Saturn that was parked in the 7900 block of 164th Court Tinley Park. 

THURSDAY, MAY 10

Between 11 a.m. and 11:25 a.m., someone stole the catalytic converter from a Dodge Dakota pickup truck belonging to a staff member at Trinity Lutheran Church, 6850 W. 159th St., Tinley Park. The ordeal is caught on camera and involved several suspects including some who stood lookout during the theft. The case remained under investigation May 11.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 9

• Police said a witness is helping in the investigation of a catalytic converter theft that occurred in the parking lot of Walt’s Food Center, 16039 Harlem Ave., Tinley Park. Between 12:10 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. the driver of a brown Ford Crown Victoria or Chevrolet Impala parked near the victim’s vehicle. A similar vehicle was spotted at another recent catalytic converter theft, police said. A man and a woman committed the crime, the witness said, and she didn’t report it at the time because she thought the vehicle may belong to one of them.

• A Porsche owner called police around 8:15 p.m. when she walked outside to her vehicle at Hamada's, 18310 N. Creek Drive in Tinley Park, and found that someone had thrown a rock through her back window. The woman knew of a possible suspect, according to reports, but police said that suspect was uncooperative. The victim planned to sign complaints, police said.

• Overnight, someone snagged a $1,600 set of golf clubs from a 2012 red Subaru Outback that was parked in the 7500 block of 163rd Place. 

• A woman called police around 12:40 p.m. when she realized she was missing $205 from a change purse that was in the cup holder of her vehicle. She said she believed the money was stolen while she was getting her car detailed at Delta Sonic, 6800 159th St. 

TUESDAY, MAY 8

A wallet was stolen overnight from an unlocked 2004 Oldsmobile that was parked in the 17800 block of 66th Court. The owner found the wallet but it was missing his FOID card, Social Security card, debit card, driver's license and two credit cards. The wallet was stashed in the center console.

SUNDAY, MAY 6

Sometime between midnight and 12:30 a.m., someone damaged a 2011 Chevrolet Carryall that was parked in the 7900 block of 164th Court in Tinley Park. The vehicle's rear window had a hole in it and the driver's side window was scratched, according to the report. 

SATURDAY, MAY 5

Sometime between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., someone damaged a motorcycle that was parked on the north side of Texas Roadhouse, 18345 S. LaGrange Road in Tinley Park. The rear turn signal was broken off and hanging from its electrical wires, the owner said. The fender was also dented.

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